Computer system console access

ABSTRACT

A console concentrator is provided as an integral part of a modular computer system to provide access to consoles in the components of the system in a secure and flexible manner. For example, the console concentrator can provide a common point of access to respective consoles of a plurality of blades in blade server system. It can also provide access to consoles of, for example, a switch processor in the blade server system.

This application claims priority to provisional application No.60/311,505, filed on Aug. 10, 2001, and provisional application No.60/366,430, filed on Mar. 21, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to providing a console function forcomputer systems, in particular for multiprocessor systems, for examplemultiprocessor server systems.

One application for the present invention relates to high densitycomputer systems, for example, computer server systems fortelecommunications applications. In telecommunications applications, itis important to provide high reliability and high capacity of operation.Various approaches have been taken to providing such high-performance,high reliability systems. Typically such systems are designed aroundproviding redundant resources so that if one component of the systemdevelops a fault, the system remains operational using the redundantresources. Fault tolerance can also be achieved, for example, withmultiprocessor systems that provide redundancy through dynamic, e.g.,software-controlled, task distribution. High density systems aretypically rack mountable, with one or more processor systems occupying ashelf in the rack. The trend in recent times is to make the computerswith smaller form factors. This means that more computers can be locatedin a rack. This has the advantage of increasing the processing densitywithin the racks, and also the advantage of reducing the distancebetween the computer systems.

The present invention seeks to address the provision of a consolefunction in such a modular computer system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the invention provides a modular computer system comprisingan integral console concentrator to provide a common point of access toconsoles in modules of the computer system.

The provision of a console concentrator as an integral part of themodular system can provide access to consoles in the components of thesystem in a secure and flexible manner. The service processor canprovide a common point of access to the consoles of, for example, eachof a plurality of information processing module received in a carrier.It can also provide access to consoles of, for example, a switchprocessor in the carrier.

The console concentrator can be connectable via respective managementconnections to each of a plurality of information processing modules,the console concentrator distributing console signals to and from theservice controller of respective information processing modules via therespective management connections.

The service processor can be connected to at least one of a networkconnection for remote access and a serial connection for local accessvia the console concentrator to the console of a received informationprocessing module. Thus the console concentrator of the serviceprocessor can be connectable to multiple access mechanisms.

Another aspect of the invention provides a server system comprising aserver blade carrier carrying a plurality of removably mountable serverblades. Each server blade can include a processor operable to provideinformation processing functions and a service controller operable toprovide blade management functions and access to a blade console. Thecarrier can further carry a service processor connectable via separatemanagement connections to each of the blades, the service processorcomprising a console concentrator for distributing console signals toand from the service controller of respective received blades.

A further aspect of the invention provides a field replaceable supportmodule for a connection framework having a plurality of informationprocessing module receiving locations each configured to receive aremovably mountable information processing module. The support modulecan include a respective management connection for connection to eachreceiving location and a service processor including a consoleconcentrator for distributing console signals to and from the servicecontroller of respective received information processing modules via therespective management connections.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of providing access toconsoles of information processing modules in a modular system, whichsystem includes a service processor providing management services for aplurality of modules, the method comprising configuring the serviceprocessor to be operable as a console concentrator, and routing consoletraffic via the service processor.

Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of particular embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter, byway of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich like reference signs relate to like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an architecture of amultiprocessor system for supporting a web site;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a racking system incorporatingan example of a carrier in the form of a rack-mountable shelf accordingto a first example;

FIG. 3 is a front view of an example of a carrier in the form of a shelfof FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of an example of the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are schematic perspective views and a schematicexploded view respectively of an example of an information processingcartridge for mounting in the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5D is a schematic perspective view of an example of an informationprocessing cartridge for mounting in the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a combinedswitch and service processor module for mounting in the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a power supplymodule for mounting in the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are a schematic plan view and schematic perspectiveviews, respectively, of an example of the chassis and midplane of theshelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8D is a schematic perspective view of a part of a base member ofthe shelf of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are schematic front, top and rear views,respectively, of an example of a midplane of the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross section view through the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an example of an informationprocessing subsystem for the information processing cartridge of FIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of an example of an informationprocessing subsystem for the combined switch and service processormodule of FIG. 6;

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of an example of a subsystem forthe power supply unit of FIG. 7;

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram showing the connectivity betweenthe components of the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram showing the external connectivityof the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of a shelf showing the externalconnections from the shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 17 is a schematic representation of a rack mounted systemcomprising a plurality of such shelves;

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram of a further example of aninformation processing subsystem for the information processingcartridge of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 19 is a schematic representation of parts of a modular computersystem for explaining console access;

FIG. 20 is a schematic representation of a console concentrator; and

FIG. 21 is a further schematic representation of parts of the modularcomputer system for explaining communication of console information.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments are shown by way of example inthe drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that drawings and detailed description thereto arenot intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed,but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications,equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments and examples are described hereafter by way of example onlyin the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Shown in FIG. 1 is an example of an application of a high capacitymultiserver system 1 for implementing a network-connected web site suchas, for example, an airline reservation system on the World Wide Web.

As shown in FIG. 1, an external network 3 (e.g., the Internet) forcommunicating with a user 5 can be connected to gateways 7 which can beconnected to an entry edge server group 9 implemented by a web farm. Theentry edge server group 9 forms an interface to the external network 3.The entry edge server group 9 can then be connected by switches 11 and afirewall 13 to a web edge server group 15 that can also be implementedas a web farm as shown in FIG. 1. The web edge server group 15 can serveto cache web pages that are readily accessible to users 5 accessing thesystem 1 from the external network 3, for example for checking flighttimes, etc. The web edge server group can comprise a number of bladeserver (BS) shelves and a number of network addressable storage (NAS)shelves for storing critical data. The web edge server group 15 can befurther connected by a further firewall 17 to a plurality of applicationservers 19, which can be responsible for, for example, processing flightreservations. The application servers 19 can then be connected via afurther firewall 21 to computer systems 23, 25, for example, e-commerceservices including financial services for receiving and processingpayment for airline reservations.

As will be appreciated, the server system described above with referenceto FIG. 1 is only an example of a possible application for amultiprocessor server system. Multiprocessor server systems have manydifferent applications and the present system is not limited to beingapplicable for use in only one or a limited number of such applications,rather multiprocessor server systems as described herein are operablefor use in many different applications. A non-exhaustive list of suchalternative applications includes: e-commerce web server systems;telecommunications network server systems; LAN application and fileserver systems and remote vehicle control systems.

With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown a schematic perspectiverepresentation of a rack system 31 as viewed from the front includingleft and right front uprights 32 and 33 and left and right rear uprights34 and 35. The uprights can be formed with apertures for receiving shelffixings (e.g., screws, bolts, clips, etc., for mounting brackets,slides, rails, etc.).

Also shown in FIG. 2 is an example of a blade server shelf 41 mounted inthe rack system 31. The shelf 41 forms a carrier configured to carry aplurality of information processing cartridges 43 located side by sidealong the shelf.

The term “shelf” is used herein in a conventional way to describe astructure that is mountable in rack system 31 and is configured to carryone or more components to form at least a part of a rack-mountablesystem. In the present example, the shelf 41 is three-dimensional,having a height (H), width (W) and depth (D). In the present example,one dimension (hereinafter described as the height, H) is smaller thanthe other dimensions (hereinafter described as the depth, D, and thewidth, W) to facilitate mounting of the shelf within the rack system 31.It will be appreciated that although the width and depth are typicallyconstrained by the dimensions of the racking system for which the shelfis designed, there is more freedom as regard the height, subject totaking account of any appropriate standards and packagingconsiderations.

Each of the information processing cartridges contains at least oneprocessor. Each information processing cartridge in the present exampleis operable as a server. In the described examples, the informationprocessing cartridges are configured as robust enclosed modules.

In the example to be described in more detail presently, the informationprocessing cartridges, when aligned in the carrier shelf, look likerectangular slabs, or blades. Accordingly, an information processingcartridge can be described as a blade. The information processingcartridges 43 comprise information processing modules enclosed in anenclosure, or housing, so that the information processing modules havethe form of cartridges. Also, as the information processing cartridgesare to operate as computer servers in the example described in moredetail presently, an information processing cartridge 43 can also bedescribed as a server blade. Accordingly, in the context of thisexample, the terms module, cartridge and blade are used interchangeably.

The illustrated example of a shelf 41 is configured to carry sixteeninformation processing cartridges 43, each of which is removablymountable in a respective opening 45 in the front of the shelf, wherebythe information processing cartridges can be inserted into and removedfrom the front of the shelf 41 without removing the shelf 41 from therack system 31.

In the present example, the shelf 41 comprises a three-dimensional,generally rectangular, enclosure, or housing, 47 that is suitable formounting in generic racking systems including both 4-post and 2-postsystems. It can be mounted on fixed rigid rack mounting ears and/or asimple slide/support system. The present example is designed forstandard 19″-wide racking (1″=25.4 mm) as defined, for example, in thewell-known IEC297 and EIA 310 specification standards with heightcorresponding to the so-called 3U (3 standard unit) height. For mountingsuch a 3U unit in such a 19″-wide racking system, with a depth of, say25″ or 30″, the enclosure can be arranged with a height of up to about130.5 mm, a width of up to about 445 mm and a depth, including allhardware and fascias, but excluding cable management, of up to about 635mm, with the depth from the front-most point of a fascia to a rear I/Oconnector panel of a rear mounted Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) of about610 mm. Of course, other examples designed for other racking systemscould have different dimensions.

This example of a shelf 41 has a single enclosure, or housing, 47 thathouses a number of modular units or subsystems, the majority of whichare replaceable in the field and are therefore known as FieldReplaceable Units (FRUs). These modular units include the informationprocessing cartridges 43.

The shelf enclosure 47 can be fabricated from sheet material (e.g., fromsteel sheet) to form a chassis portion 49 that includes a base 51, twosides 53 and 55, a front 57 and a rear 59. The word “front” as used hereis merely used as a label herein to refer to the face, or wall 57 of theenclosure that is located at the main access side of the rack system 31in use when the shelf is mounted therein. Similarly, the words “rear”and “side” are merely used as labels herein to refer to the faces, orwalls 59, 53 and 55 that, in use, are located at those respectivepositions when the shelf is mounted in the rack system 31.

The openings 45 can be formed in the front face 57 for receiving theinformation processing cartridges 43 and, as will be explained later,apertures can also be formed in the rear face 59 for receiving furtherFRUs. The enclosure can further include a removable top cover 61 thatcan be secured to the chassis portion 49 by suitable fastening (e.g.,screws). The apertures in the front and rear faces 57 and 59 allow atleast some of the FRUs to be inserted into and/or removed from the shelfenclosure 47 via the front or the rear thereof, as appropriate, withoutremoving the shelf from the racking. Access to components mounted in theshelf that are not accessible via one of the apertures in the front 47and rear 59 faces can be achieved by removing the shelf enclosure 47from the racking system 31 and then removing the top cover 61 of theshelf enclosure 47.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an example of a shelf 41 for a first example.A plastic front bezel 63 can be provided that fits on the front face 57(shown in FIG. 2) of the chassis 49 of the shelf enclosure 47. The frontbezel 63 can be formed as a unitary removable part that spans the wholewidth and height of the front of the shelf enclosure 47. The front bezel63 could alternatively include a number of separate components, ormouldings. The front bezel can include a peripheral portion 64 that canprovide areas for corporate and product branding marks, foridentification and numbering for the information processing cartridgeand for a bar code label (all not shown). One or more apertures 65 canbe formed in the peripheral portion 64 of the bezel 63. The apertures 65in the bezel can be arranged to align with one or more apertures (e.g. aslot (not shown in FIG. 3) in the front face of the chassis. In use, aircan pass through the apertures 65 to flow into the shelf enclosure 47 toreach FRUs that are mounted in the shelf enclosure 47 through the rearface 59 thereof. Air flowing through the aperture 65 flows into a plenumchamber 66 (not shown in FIG. 3) to flow past the processing cartridges43 to reach rear mounted FRUs. A central area 67 of the front bezel 63can be open allowing access to the openings 45 in the front face 57 ofthe shelf enclosure 47 for insertion and removal of the informationprocessing cartridges 43. Where no active module is mounted in alocation for an information processing module, a blanking panel, orfiller panel, such as the blanking panel 44, can be located in thatlocation. LED indicators 69 can be mounted on a system indicator printedcircuit board (not shown) behind a designated area of the bezel toprovide an indication of system status via light guides incorporatedinto the bezel. A further system indicator board (also not shown)carrying LED indicators can be provided inside the shelf enclosure to bevisible from the rear thereof.

As mentioned above, in the present example of a shelf, up to sixteeninformation processing cartridges 43 can be installed in respectiveopenings 45 in the front face 57 thereof. The number of informationprocessing cartridges 43 actually installed in any installation isdependent upon the system configuration required. Various featuresrelating to the information processing cartridges 43 that are shown inFIG. 3 will be described later.

FIG. 4 illustrates the rear of the shelf unit of FIGS. 2 and 3. Thisshows two different types of FRU 71 and 81 (4 units in total) that havebeen inserted into respective apertures 72 and 82 in the rear of theshelf enclosure 47. The FRUs shown in FIG. 4 include two Combined Switchand Service Processors (CSSPs) 71 and two Power Supply Units (PSUs) 81.Various features shown in FIG. 4 will be described later.

Before proceeding with a more detailed description of each of the FRUs43, 71 and 81 introduced so far and of the construction of the shelf 41,there follows a brief description of an information processing cartridge43, a CSSP 71 and a PSU 81 with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

FIG. 5A provides a perspective view, partly from the rear, of aninformation processing cartridge 43. FIG. 5B provides a perspectiveview, partly from the front of the same information processing cartridge43. FIG. 5C provides an exploded perspective view of the construction ofthe information processing cartridge 43. Here is it to be noted that theterm “rear” is applied in the context of the position, when installed,of the information processing cartridge, with respect to the shelf 41(i.e. in this case the “rear” of the information processing cartridge 43is the innermost part of the information processing cartridge when it isinserted in the shelf 41). Likewise, “front” refers in the presentcontext to the outermost part of the information processing cartridgewhen it is inserted in the shelf 41.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 5A and 5B, it will be noted that informationprocessing cartridges are three-dimensional, having a height (h), width(w) and depth (d). If, as in the present example, the informationprocessing cartridges are to be arranged in a one-dimensional array (arow) across the shelf, then efficient packing for the informationprocessing cartridges is achieved where one dimension (here the width,w) is smaller than the other dimensions (here the depth, d, and theheight, h). In a particular example, the enclosure of a processingcartridge 43 has a height h, width w and depth d of 115 mm, 26 mm and315 mm, respectively, although of course, other examples may havedifferent dimensions.

It will be noted that an enclosure 101 of the present example of aninformation processing cartridge 43 has six, generally rectangular,faces. For convenience only, the face that is visible from the front ofthe racking when an information processing cartridge 43 is mounted inthe shelf 41 is known as the front face 102. The opposite face is knownas the rear face 103. In the present example these two faces, as well astop and bottom faces 104 and 105, and the side faces 106 and 107 havethe shape of elongate rectangles.

Although in the present example the information processing cartridgeshave six generally rectangular faces, it will be appreciated that otherexamples could have other configurations. For example, rather thanhaving a generally rectangular shape, the side faces of another exampleof an information processing cartridge could have the general shape of atriangle (whereby the information processing cartridge may then onlyhave five faces), a pentagon (whereby the information processingcartridge may then have seven faces), and so on. Indeed, one or more orall of the edges could be curved. However, it will be appreciated thatthe present configuration provides advantages for example, in terms ofmanufacturing, engineering and packing density within a shelf 41.

In this example, the information processing cartridge enclosure 101 isfabricated from two housing portions. The first housing portion 109 canbe fabricated from, for example, a metal (e.g., pressed steel) and caninclude one side face 106, the rear face 103 and part of the top face104. The part of the top face formed by the metal portion 109 is giventhe reference 1041 in FIG. 5A. The second housing portion 110 can befabricated from, for example, a plastics material and can include theother side face 107 and the front faces 102 and bottom face 105 and theremaining part 1042 of the top face 104. In the present example, aplastics material used is PolyCarbonate Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene(PCABS), however many other plastics materials such as other ABSs andnylons may be used. The metal portion 109 also includes a part 1021corresponding to the front face 102 and a part 1051 corresponding to apart of the bottom face 105. The parts are covered by the plasticsportion 110 when enclosure 101 is fully assembled. These parts arevisible in the exploded view of FIG. 5C. The two housing portions 109and 110 are secured to one another by fixings such as screws 118.

As shown in FIG. 5A, a groove 108 runs along the length of the plastictop face portion 1042. This groove 108 is provided for interfacing witha guide member of the shelf chassis (not shown in FIG. 5A, but see FIGS.8B and 8C). A similar groove 113 is formed in the bottom face 105 of theplastics portion 110 as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C. This groove 113 isprovided for interfacing with a guide member of the shelf chassis (notshown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, but see FIG. 8D).

The provision of the enclosure 101 means that the information processingcartridge 43 can safely be handled by an operator who is not a skilledtechnician. Also, through the use of the enclosure 101, the informationprocessing cartridge is a robust unit that protects its inner workingsfrom the outside environment and vice versa. The use of a conductiveenclosure, e.g., a metal enclosure, can result in the informationprocessing cartridge including its own electromagnetic shielding. Tothis end, the enclosure 101 can also be provided with an internalelectromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding member 116 as shown in FIG.5C. The EMI shielding member can be located between the internalcomponents 112 of the information processing cartridge 43 (not describedin detail with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C, but see FIGS. 11 and 18below) and the plastics portion 110. The EMI shielding member can besecured to the plastics portion 110, for example by heat bonding or anadhesive. In other examples, the plastics portion could have aconductive layer deposited thereon, or conductive plastics materialcould be used. In this example, the EMI shielding member 116 is providedwith electromagnetic interference (EMI) fingers 114 to ensure goodcontact with the shelf chassis and the adjacent components. Thesefingers 114 extend through EMI finger apertures 1141 in the plasticsportion 110.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5B and 5C, the information processing cartridge 43incorporates an injector/ejector handle 111 on the front face 102 forfacilitating insertion and latching of the information processingcartridge 43 within an aperture in the shelf 41.

As shown in those Figures, the handle 111 of the injector/ejector leverextends substantially the whole height of the front face of theinformation processing cartridge 43, thereby increasing the mechanicaladvantage and facilitating injection and ejection of the informationprocessing cartridge 43. As is further shown in those Figures, the frontface 102 of the information processing cartridge 43 has perforations115, in the present example slits, to allow for airflow into theinformation processing cartridge 43. The front face part 1021 of themetal portion 109 has perforations corresponding to those in the frontface 102 such that airflow into the information processing cartridge 43is not impeded. It will be noted in FIGS. 3, 5B and 5C that the handle111 is narrower in its middle than at its ends. This reduces any maskingeffect of the handle 111 on the airflow to the perforations 115 in thefront face of the information processing cartridge 43 and facilitatesgrasping of handle 111. The handle 111 can be bowed out from the frontface of the information processing cartridge to further facilitategrasping thereof and to reduce any masking effect with regard to theperforations. In other examples, the handle 111 could have an openframe-like structure to further facilitate airflow.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the rear face 103 of the information processingcartridge 43 also has perforations 117 to allow for air to be exhaustedfrom the rear of the information processing cartridge 43. A fan can belocated within the enclosure 101 of an information processing cartridge43. In the present example the fan is a combined radial fan (blower) andheat sink to direct cooling air onto a processor of the informationprocessing cartridge, which fan also encourages air movement within theenclosure 101. LED indicators 119 (see FIGS. 3 and 5B) can be providedon the front face 102 of an information processing cartridge to indicatewhether power is on, whether service intervention is required andwhether the information processing cartridge 43 can be removed. Aconnector 120, for example a 40 way single connector attachment (SCA-2)connector (a small computer systems interface (SCSI) connector), can beprovided at the rear of the information processing cartridge 43 forelectrical connection of the information processing cartridge 43 withinthe shelf 41. The connector 120 is advantageously able to withstandrepeated removals and insertions of the enclosure 101 from and into ashelf 41. The connector arrangement can include a guide pin arrangementto prevent module misalignment during insertion of the informationprocessing cartridge into the receiving location.

Thus an example of features and the construction of an informationprocessing cartridge enclosure has been described. Although particularmaterials and constructions have been described, it will be appreciatedthat other examples could be employed. Indeed, it will be appreciatedthat this particular example relates to only a possible form for theprocessing cartridge 43. An example of an alternative construction willnow be described with reference to FIG. 5D.

FIG. 5D provides a perspective view, partly from the rear, of analternative information processing cartridge 43. Here is it to be notedthat the term “rear” is applied in the context of the position, wheninstalled, of the information processing cartridge, with respect to theshelf 41 (i.e. in this case the “rear” of the information processingcartridge 43 is the innermost part of the information processingcartridge when it is inserted in the shelf 41).

In this example, the information processing cartridge enclosure 101 isfabricated from pressed steel to form two chassis portions. The firstportion 234 includes one side face 107, and part of each of the frontand rear faces 102 and 103 and the top and bottom faces 104 and 105. Thesecond portion 235 includes the other side face 108 and the remainingpart of each of the front and rear faces 102 and 103 and the top andbottom faces 104 and 105. The two chassis portions 234 and 235 meet at agroove 236 and are secured to one another by fixings (e.g., one or morescrews, not shown). Grooves 236 run along the top and bottom faces 104and 105 of the enclosure 101 and are provided for interfacing with guiderails of the shelf chassis 49 (not shown in FIG. 5, but see FIG. 8C). Acover portion that is secured to the chassis portion forms the otherside face 106. It will be appreciated however, that in another example,the chassis portions could be joined at a position other than the groove108, with the groove 108 being formed entirely in one of the chassisportions. Alternatively, the enclosure 101 may be constructed from anumber of sheets of steel, with each sheet forming one of the faces.

FIG. 6 provides a perspective view, partly from the front, of a CombinedSwitch and Service Processor (CSSP) cartridge (or CSSP) 71. Here is itto be noted that the term “front” is applied in the context of theposition, when installed, of the CSSP cartridge 71, with respect to theshelf 41 (i.e. in this case the “front” of the CSSP cartridge 71 is theinnermost part of the CSSP cartridge 71 when it is inserted in the shelf41).

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, it will be noted that a CSSP cartridge71 is three-dimensional, having a height (h), width (w) and depth (d).In a particular example, the enclosure of a CSSP 71 has a height h,width w and depth d of 43 mm, 202 mm and 278 mm, respectively, althoughof course, other examples may have different dimensions.

An enclosure 121 of present example of a CSSP cartridge 71 has six,generally rectangular, faces. For convenience only, the face that isvisible from the rear of the racking when a CSSP cartridge 71 is mountedin the shelf 41 is known as the rear face 122. The opposite face isknown as the front face 123. In the present example these two faces, aswell as side faces 126 and 127 have the shape of elongate rectangles.The top and bottom faces 124 and 125 are also rectangular, but notelongate in the manner of the front, rear, top and bottom faces.Although in the present example the CSSP cartridges have six generallyrectangular faces, as for the information processing cartridges 43 itwill be appreciated that other examples could have other configurations.

In this example, the CSSP enclosure 121 is fabricated from steel sheetto form a chassis portion that includes the bottom face 125, the frontand rear faces 122 and 123 and the side faces 126 and 127. A coverportion that is secured to the chassis portion forms the other top face124. The cover portion is secured to the chassis portion by suitablefixings, for example one or more screws 128. It will be appreciatedhowever, that in another example, other faces, or portions, of theenclosure could form the chassis and the cover portions. The provisionof the enclosure 121 means that the CSSP cartridge 71 can safely behandled by an operator who is not a skilled technician. Also, throughthe use of the enclosure 121, the switch cartridge is a robust unit thatprotects its inner workings from the outside environment and vice versa.The use of a conductive enclosure, e.g., a metal enclosure, means thatthe CSSP cartridge includes its own electromagnetic shielding. To thisend the CSSP enclosure 121 is provided with EMI fingers 129 to ensuregood contact with the shelf chassis and the adjacent components.

As shown in FIG. 4, the CSSP cartridge 71 incorporates two D-shapedhandles 132 to facilitate insertion and removal of the CSSP cartridge 71with respect to an aperture 72 in the rear face of the shelf enclosure.A latch member 131 can be pivotably mounted on a plate that can besecured (e.g., using screws) to the rear face of the shelf enclosure.The latch member 131 is configured to engage one of the handles 132 andto secure the CSSP cartridge 71 in place. In other examples, the CSSPcartridge 71 could be provided with an injector/ejector handle in amanner similar to the information processing cartridge. As shown in FIG.6, the front face 123 of the CSSP cartridge 71 has perforations 133 toallow for airflow into the CSSP cartridge 71. As shown in FIG. 4, therear face 122 of the CSSP cartridge 71 has perforations 135 to allow forair to be exhausted from the rear of the CSSP cartridge 71.

At least one fan can be located, for example behind the perforatedportion 135 of the rear face, in a CSSP cartridge 71 to channel coolingair through the CSSP cartridge 71 from the front to the rear. In thisparticular example shown, two fans are provided, one behind each set ofperforations 135. LED indicators 137, as shown in FIG. 4, can beprovided on the rear face 122 of the CSSP enclosure 121 to indicatewhether power is on, whether service intervention is required andwhether the switch can be removed. Additional link status indicators canbe provided integral to 2×4 stacked RJ-45 connectors 139, also shown inFIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, electrical connections 141 can be providedat the front face of the CSSP (i.e. on the face that in use is insidethe shelf enclosure 47). Suitable connections for use in the presentexample include a connector for power connections, a connector forserial management data connections and a connector for informationconnections. In the present example, information connections areimplemented using an Ethernet information communication protocol, e.g.at 1 Gigabit (Gb). However other protocols could equally be used, forexample the Infiniband information communication protocol. The connectorarrangement can include a guide pin arrangement to prevent modulemisalignment during insertion of the CSSP module into the receivinglocation. For this purpose, guide pin holes 142 can be provided on thefront face 123 into which guide pins may pass to aid module alignment.

In the present example, up to two CSSPs 71 can be mounted at any onetime at the rear of the shelf unit in corresponding apertures 72 in therear face of the shelf enclosure 47. The number of CSSPs 71 provided inany particular implementation depends upon system configuration and theneed, or otherwise, for redundancy.

It will be appreciated that one possible construction of the CSSPcartridge 71 has been described and that as for the informationprocessing cartridge 43, other examples could employ other materialsand/or constructions.

FIG. 7 provides a perspective view, partly from the front, of a powersupply unit (PSU) cartridge 81. Here is it to be noted that the term“front” is applied in the context of the position, when installed, ofthe PSU cartridge 81, with respect to the shelf 41 (i.e. in this casethe “front” of the PSU cartridge 81 is the innermost part of the PSUcartridge 81 when it is inserted in the shelf 41).

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 7, it will be noted that PSU cartridge 81is three-dimensional, having a height (h), width (w) and depth (d). Inthis particular example, the order to provide for a dense packing of theFRUs in the rear of the shelf 41, the PSU cartridge 81 has twodimensions (hereinafter described as the width, w, and the depth, d)that are generally similar. In a particular example, the enclosure of aPSU cartridge 81 has a height h, width w and depth d of 83 mm, 202 mmand 276 mm, respectively, although of course, other examples may havedifferent dimensions.

An enclosure 145 of present example of a PSU cartridge 81 is ofgenerally oblong shape, but has the “top” “front” edge cut away to forman additional “top” “front” sloping face. The enclosure 145 thereforehas five, generally rectangular, faces and two faces of generallyrectangular shape with one corner cut away. For convenience only, theface that is visible from the rear of the racking when the PSU cartridge81 is mounted in the shelf 41 is known as the rear face 146. Theopposite face is known as the front face 147. In the present examplethese two faces and the two side faces 150, 151 are of elongate,generally rectangular shape with one corner cut away, given that thewidth and depth of the PSU cartridge are similar, whereas the top andbottom faces 148, 149, although still rectangular, are not, in thisexample, notably elongate. A top front face 148 a is present at the topfront of the enclosure. Thus the front of the enclosure is sloped at thetop edge. As for the information processing cartridges 43, however, itwill be appreciated that other examples could have other configurations.

In this example, the PSU cartridge enclosure 145 is fabricated fromsteel sheet to form a housing portion that includes the bottom face 149,the side faces 150 and 151 and the front and rear faces 146 and 147.Cover portions that are secured to the housing portion form the top face148 and top front face 148 a. The cover portions are secured to thechassis portion by suitable fixings, for example one or more screws 152.It will be appreciated however, that in another example, other faces, orportions, of the enclosure could form the chassis and the coverportions. The provision of the enclosure 145 means that the PSUcartridge 81 can safely be handled by an operator who is not a skilledtechnician. Also, through the use of the enclosure 145, the PSUcartridge 81 is a robust unit that protects its inner workings from theoutside environment and vice versa. The use of a conductive enclosure,e.g., a metal enclosure, means that the PSU cartridge includes its ownelectromagnetic shielding. To this end the PSU enclosure 145 is providedwith EMI fingers 153 to ensure good contact with the shelf chassis andthe adjacent components.

As shown in FIG. 4, the PSU cartridge 81 incorporates two D-shapedhandles 156 to facilitate insertion and removal of the PSU cartridge 81with respect to an aperture 82 in the rear face of the shelf enclosure.A latch member 155 can be pivotably mounted on a plate that can besecured (e.g., using screws) to the rear face of the shelf enclosure.The latch member 155 is configured to engage one of the handles 156 andto secure the PSU 81 in place. In other examples, the PSU 81 could beprovided with an injector/ejector handle in a manner similar to theinformation processing cartridge. As shown in FIG. 7, the front face 147of the PSU cartridge 81 has perforations 157 to allow for airflow intothe PSU cartridge 81. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear face 146 of the PSUcartridge 81 also has perforations 159 to allow for air to be exhaustedfrom the rear of the PSU cartridge 81.

A pair of fans can be located behind the perforated portions 159 of therear face of a PSU cartridge 81 to channel cooling air through the PSUcartridge from the front to the rear. LED indicators 161 can be providedon the rear face 146 of the PSU enclosure 81 to indicate whether inputpower is good, whether output power is good, whether serviceintervention is required and whether the PSU can be removed. Electricalconnectors 163 can be provided at the front face of the PSU (i.e. on theface that in use is inside the shelf enclosure 47) for connection to theshelf. The PSU 81 of the present example may suitably employ an SSI-MPS(Server Systems Interface Midrange Power Supply) compliant right angleconnector at the front face 147 of the PSU 81 to connect to the shelf41. The power inlet 83 for each PSU 81 can incorporate a cable/connectorretention mechanism (not shown) on the rear face 146 of the PSU toprevent accidental or malicious removal of the power input cord from thePSU 81.

In the present example, the shelf unit enclosure provides slots at therear of the shelf unit for two hot-swappable, AC input PSUs 81. Toprovide redundant power supply, both PSU slots are populated. Moregenerally, N+M power supplies can be provided, where N is the minimumnumber of power supply units needed to support the components mounted inthe shelf, and M is a selectable number of 0, 1 or more power suppliesto provide for redundancy. In the present example, N=M=1.

It will be appreciated that one possible construction of the CSSPcartridge 71 has been described and that as for the informationprocessing cartridge 43, other examples could employ other materialsand/or constructions.

If the full complement of information processing cartridges or switchesare not fitted to the enclosure, then blanking panels/modules (e.g., theblanking panels 44 shown in FIG. 3) are fitted to all unpopulatedpositions to maintain the correct airflow and thermal characteristics ofthe shelf, a safe internal operating temperature for the shelf lifeexpectancy of all shelf components, electromagnetic compliance (EMC)containment and electrostatic discharge (ESD) containment.

It will be noted that each of the FRUs, such as the informationprocessing cartridges 43, is advantageously contained in its own robustenclosure to facilitate EMC containment, ESD containment, handling,storage and transportation. Each FRU can be configured as a ‘sealed’unit in the sense that it can be configured not to have field orcustomer serviceable parts internally. The FRUs can be configuredreadily to plug into the shelf enclosure and to be hot swappable. TheFRUs can be keyed to prevent incorrect positioning and insertion intothe shelf enclosure and are arranged positively to be retained in theshelf by a latching/locking mechanism.

The examples of FRUs described above are not provided with removablemedia. In the present example, internal data storage is provided by 2.5″IDE 9.5 mm or 12.7 mm profile hard disk drive (HDD) devices mountedinternally in each information processing cartridge 43 and in the CSSPcartridge 71. The drives are not considered as FRUs and are nothot-swappable disk drives in the present example, although they could bein other examples. In other examples, the information processingcartridges can be configured without internal hard disk drives.

The internal configuration of the shelf 41 and a midplane 171 containedtherein is described in the following with reference to FIGS. 8A, 8B 8Cand 8D, and FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C.

FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view showing the internal configuration ofan example of a shelf 41 with the cover 61 removed. FIG. 8B is aschematic perspective view from above the rear of the chassis portion 47of the shelf enclosure with the field replaceable units removed. FIG. 8Cis a schematic perspective view from below the front of the chassisportion 47 of the shelf enclosure with the field replaceable units andthe base 51 removed. FIG. 8D is a schematic perspective view from thefront and above a part of the base 51 of the shelf 41. FIGS. 9A, 9B and9C are, respectively, front, top and rear views of the midplane 171. Inthis example, the midplane is, in use, mounted vertically within theshelf 41 extending across the width W of the shelf 41 at a positionapproximately half way between the front and the rear of the shelf 41.

The vertically mounted midplane 171 extends, in this example, across theshelf 41 and allows for the electrical interconnection of the FRUs. Thevarious apertures in the front and rear faces 57 and 59 of the shelf 41,in combination with the midplane 171, can be provided with guides (e.g.,rails 181) and keying e.g., offset connector positioning for theinsertion of the FRUs into the enclosure and midplane 171. The midplane171 can be a double-sided, or multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB)assembly that can be mounted vertically in a rigid manner within theenclosure. It can carry connectors 175 on a front surface 172 for makingelectrical connection with corresponding connectors 120 on theinformation processing cartridges 43. It can also carry connectors 177and 179 on rear surface 173 for making electrical connection withcorresponding connectors 141 and 163 on the CSSPs 71 and the PSUs 81,respectively. Conductive tracks (not shown) on and through the midplane171 can be provided to interconnect the various connectors. In addition,the midplane can provide connectors for receiving correspondingconnectors connected to first and second indicator boards 183 and 184that each carry a respective set of LED indicators 69. In the presentexample, the midplane 171 is not configured as a FRU and is not hotswappable. It is perforated to facilitate airflow through the shelf 41.The midplane 171 can include openings 185, which cooperate with openingsin the enclosures of the FRUs 43 and 81, to provide a path for coolingair to pass from the front to the rear of the shelf 41, the cooling airbeing driven by fans in one or more of the FRUs, for example in the PSUs81, possibly also in the information processing cartridges 43.

A plenum chamber floor member 94 can extend horizontally from the frontof the midplane 171 to the front face 57 of the shelf enclosure, orchassis 47. The member 94 provides a floor for a plenum chamber 66,which is supplied with air via the apertures 65 in the front bezel and,in the illustrated example, the slot shaped aperture 68 in the frontface 57 of the shelf enclosure 47. Although, for reasons of ease ofillustration a slot shaped aperture 68 is shown, a plurality ofapertures 68 aligned with the blade receiving locations may be provided.The aperture or apertures 68 can serve both as air vents for a flow ofair to the plenum chamber 66, and also as latching locations forlatching portions at the top of the injector/ejector levers 111 for theblades shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C. The top and sides of the plenum chamberare provided by the top cover 61 and side faces 53 and 54 of the shelfenclosure 47.

A plurality of cartridge guides 97 can be provided at the underside ofthe plenum chamber floor member 94. In the present example, these guidescomprise sprung wire members, e.g., of a resilient metal such as springsteel, that are attached to the top surface of the plenum chamber floormember 94 and extend through a plurality of apertures therethrough toresult in a row of guides 97 at the underside of the plenum chamberfloor member 94. This arrangement is shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C. In FIG.8B, the sprung wire members 98 are shown attached to the top surface ofthe plenum chamber floor member 94. In the present example, the sprungwire members 98 are arranged in pairs, such that two guides 97 areprovided by each spring clip 98. In FIG. 8C, the guides 97 formed by theprotruding portions of the sprung wire members 98 are shown at theunderside of the plenum chamber floor member 94. Each guide 97 isadvantageously positioned so as to interface with the groove 108 in theplastics material in the upper face 104 of a processing cartridge 43 asshown in FIGS. 5A–5C to aid correct alignment and to facilitateinsertion of the processing cartridge during insertion of the cartridgeinto the shelf 41. The use of the spring clip as a guide 97 also servesto urge the processing cartridge downwards to provide a secure mountingof the processing cartridge 43, to take account of manufacturing andoperational tolerances and to assist in insertion of the processingcartridge where an operator does not align this absolutely correctly.

A further row of cartridge guides 99 can be provided at the uppersurface of the base 51 of the shelf 41. In the present example, as shownin FIG. 8D, these guides 99 have a rail like form, which can be achievedby punching or stamping through the base 51 of the shelf 41. In thisexample each guide, or rail, 99 includes a pair of upstands separated byan aperture 100 through the base 51. The size of the aperture 100 cancorrespond to the width between the upstands. The separation of theupstands is selected so that the overall width of the resulting rails isslightly less than the width of a groove formed in the lower face of aninformation processing cartridge 43. Thus, each guide 97 isadvantageously arranged so as to interface with the groove 1113 in theplastics material in the lower face 104 of a processing cartridge 43 asshown in FIGS. 5A–5C to aid correct alignment and to facilitateinsertion of the processing cartridge during insertion of the cartridgeinto the shelf 41.

In the present example, where the guides 97 and 99 are formed frommetal, the provision of the grooves 108 and 113 in plastics material atthe upper and lower faces, respectively, of each information processingcartridge 43 (see FIGS. 5A–5B) results in a combination of metal andplastics materials that can provide a low friction interaction,facilitating insertion of the information processing cartridges.

If, for example, the information processing cartridge enclosure is madeof a metal, it may be undesirable to provide metal guides to avoid ametal to metal interaction. In such a case, for example, it may bedesirable to form the guides from a plastics material having a lowcoefficient of friction, such as polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE) orpolythene. Plastics rails could be attached to the underside of theplenum chamber floor member 94 and/or on the upper surface of the base51 of the shelf 41. In such an example, grooves on the upper and lowerfaces of the information processing cartridges 43 could then be formedof metal or plastics and still result in a low friction arrangement.

A CSSP/PSU divider 96 can be provided to the rear of the midplane 171and can extend horizontally to the rear face 59 of the shelf enclosure47. The CSSPs 71, when inserted, are supported by the divider 96. To aidthe correct insertion of the CSSPs 71, CSSP guide pins 178 are providedon the midplane 171 at positions adjacent connectors 177 on the midplane171 for connection to the CSSPs 71.

Respective positions 88 and 89 can be formed in the front face 57 andthe rear face 59 at which first and second indicator boards 183 and 184supporting the indicator LEDs 69 can be located. These positions 88, 89therefore include an aperture through the respective face of the shelfenclosure 47 such that indicator LEDs 69 mounted onto a circuit boardattached to the inside of the shelf enclosure 47 may be viewed fromoutside the shelf enclosure.

There now follows are more detailed description of the midplane 171.

As mentioned above, the midplane 171 connects all the elements of ashelf together, including, in the present example, up to sixteeninformation processing cartridges 43, up to two CSSPs 71, two PSUs 81and the two indicator boards 183 and 184. In the present example, due toits location within the shelf enclosure, the midplane 171 is notconfigured to be swappable. Accordingly, to maximize the systemreliability, the midplane is configured to provide as a high level ofreliability as possible. To this end, the midplane is advantageouslyconfigured without active devices and to include the minimum number ofdecoupling capacitors consistent with good design practice (ideallyzero).

The midplane supports a number of paths for various power and signallines to interconnect the FRUs.

In the present example, each information processing cartridge 43 has ahigh speed information signal connection (e.g., a Gigabit (Gb) EthernetSERializer/DESerializer (SERDES) connection) to each of the CSSPs 71,each connection consisting of two pairs of differential signals. In aconventional manner therefore, the tracking of the paths for thesesignals is arranged to keep the pairs well balanced and on a singlesignal layer (i.e. without vias) to support such differential signals athigh frequency.

In addition, in the present example, each information processingcartridge 43 has a serial console connection to the CSSP cartridge 71.Each connection consists of two TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic) levelsignals that make a transmit and return (TX and RX) pair.

Also, each PSU 81 has a management signal connection (e.g., a serial I2C(Inter-IC Bus) connection) to the CSSP cartridge 71 to control power andmonitor environmental parameters. The I2C bus comprises of two signalsSCL and SDL (serial clock line and serial data line). In addition, anI2C address programming pin is provided for the PSUs 81.

Each information processing cartridge 43 and PSU 81 can signal to theCSSP cartridge 71 that it is inserted by pulling to ground (GND) arespective Inserted_L signal (i.e., an active low signal). These signalsare fed to the CSSP cartridge 71 via the midplane 171.

Each PSU 81 has five 12 Volt output rails. The routing from each PSU 81is arranged so that a fault in any single FRU cannot completelyinterrupt the power to any other.

As mentioned above, the midplane 171 is provided with appropriateconnector arrangements for receiving the connectors on the FRUs.

In the present example, the information processing cartridge 43 connectsto the midplane 171 through a 40 pin Single Connector Attachment (SCA-2)connector as defined by the Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI)standard. Accordingly, the midplane carries corresponding connectors175.

In the present example, each CSSP cartridge 71 connects to the midplane171 through a two right-angle 20 pair connector (e.g., 2 mm HM-Zdconnectors available from Tyco Electronics). The correspondingconnectors 177 on the midplane are straight male parts with a powerconnector. A guide pin arrangement is provided in addition to theconnectors to prevent misaligned modules causing bent pins duringinsertion. The guide pin also provides a leading ground. The CSSPcartridge 71 also connects to the midplane 171 through a right-angled125 way 5 row 2 mm connector. The connector 177 on the midplane 171includes a straight male part. A guide pin arrangement is provided inaddition to the connectors to prevent misaligned modules causing bentpins during insertion.

In the present example, as mentioned above, each PSU 81 connects to themidplane 171 through an SSI-MPS specification connector. The contactsare configured 5P/24S/6P with sequenced signal (S) and power (P) pins.Where the connector on the PSU is a 1450230-1 R/A male header, soldertails connector, the mating connector 179 on the midplane can be a1450540-2 vertical receptacle, press-fit connector.

In the present implementation, indicator boards 183 and 184 (see FIG.8A) are provided at the front and rear of the system and are configuredas FRUs. In this example they hold three system-level indicator LEDs 69and include a FRU identity (FRU-ID) programmable read-only memory (PROM)each. Three LEDs 69 are present on the indicator board. There can, forexample, be a white locator LED that can be switched by the user forlocating the system; a green power-on LED to indicate when the system ispowered; and an amber service-required LED to indicate a fault or othercondition requiring servicing. These LEDs can be driven by the CSSP 71.

In the present example, identification information (FRU ID) for themidplane 171 is held on an I2C electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM) in the front indicator board 183. In addition tothe I2C signals necessary to access the FRU ID EEPROM, the CSSPs 71provide a current limited supply to the indicator boards 183 and 184 viathe midplane. The indicator boards 183 and 184 are also provided with anI2C address programming pin. Depending on the implementation, FRU IDinformation can be stored instead, or in addition, on the rear indicatorboard 184.

As the FRU-ID for the midplane 171 is held on one or both of theindicator boards 183 and 184, the midplane can be a totally passiveunit. The FRU-ID PROMs communicate with the CSSPs 71 via an I2C bus.Each device on the bus has a separate I2C address. The lower three I2Caddress bits of the EEPROMs used are available as pins on the device, toallow programming with resistors. The least significant bit of thisaddress (A0) is passed to the midplane via the corresponding connector.This allows the midplane 171 to program the address of the FRU-IDdifferently for the front and rear indicator boards 183 and 184, bypulling the address low for the front board and high for the rearindicator board 183. This ensures that both EEPROMS are available on thebus, at different addresses. The FRU-ID for the midplane can be storedon either front or rear EEPROM, but the present example the FRU-ID isstored in the EEPROM on the front indicator board 183. The EEPROM can be8 kByte or larger.

As mentioned above, the midplane 171 includes openings 185 to provide aventilation path for cooling air passing through the shelf 41. Thecooling air passing through the shelf 41 via the midplane 171 can bedriven by means of fans provided in each of the information processingcartridges 43 and the power supply modules 81. The openings 185 shown inFIGS. 8B, 9A, 9B and 9C form schematic representations of openings inthe midplane 171. In practice, the openings could have any form (i.e., aseries of large openings, or a number of small perforations), arrangedon the midplane to align with corresponding openings or ventilationapertures in the various field replaceable units 43, 71 and 81. In thisway, the path of the airflow from the front of the shelf to the back ofthe shelf can be configured to be as efficient as possible, depending onthe detail configuration of the fan units and the ventilation openingsor apertures in the information processing, switch, service processorand power supply unit modules 43, 71 and 81. Providing the fan units inthe field replaceable units 43, 71 and 81, contributes to the aim ofmaintaining the chassis 49 and the midplane 171 of the shelf 41 free ofactive components, thereby minimising cost, and facilitatingmaintenance. Also, by providing the fan units in each of the fieldreplaceable units, merely inserting and removing field replaceable unitsautomatically adapts the flow of cooling air to the number and type offield replaceable units inserted in the shelf 41.

As described above, in the present example each of the FRUs is designedto be a non-user serviceable unit. Thus each FRU presents the user witha “sealed” unit which may be inserted into and removed from the shelf 41as desired or required. If a FRU ceases to be operable, then the userhas a choice only of returning the FRU to a supplier or service companyfor repair or of discarding the non-operable unit. As the FRUs arenon-user serviceable, there is no requirement for a skilled technicianto be employed in inserting or removing the FRUs into or from a shelf41. Thus each FRU is designed such that a non-skilled person should havedifficulty in causing damage to the FRU during handling. Moreover, theconfiguration and construction of the FRUs (e.g., the injector/ejectorlevers, the grooves in the enclosures of the information processingunits, etc), of the shelf enclosure and the midplane (e.g., the guiderails to guide insertion of the FRUs, the locating pins, etc) contributeto facilitating easy insertion and removal of the FRUs.

Shown in FIG. 10 is an example of the flow of cooling air through theshelf 41 and FRUs 43, 71, 81 mounted therein.

In this example, the cooling air passing through the shelf 41 is drawngenerally in a front to rear direction through the shelf 41 by coolingfans mounted within the CSSPs 71 and the PSUs 81. Two separate flowpaths for cooling air are provided in this example. The first, indicatedas flow path αα by dotted lines 77 provides cooling air to the CSSPs 71.The second path, indicated as flow path γγ by dotted lines 78 providescooling air to the information processing cartridges 43 and PSUs 81.

The flow of cooling air along path αα enters the shelf 41 through theaperture(s) 65 in the front face 57 of the shelf enclosure 47 into theplenum chamber 66. Further apertures (not shown) could also be providedin the side faces 53 and 55 of the shelf enclosure 47 to allow air toflow into the plenum chamber 66. This air then flows through the plenumchamber 66, and passes over the top edge of the midplane 171 to reachthe perforations 133 of the front face of the CSSPs 71. The cooling airthen passes through the CSSPs 71, providing cooling to the componentsthereof before passing out of the CSSPs 71 through the perforations 135in the rear face of the CSSPs 71 thus being exhausted from the shelf 41.This flow of cooling air along flow path αα is driven by fans 79 mountedwithin the CSSPs 71. In the present example, a pair of fans 79 isprovided within each CSSP 71 and is mounted against the rear facethereof.

Air flowing along path αα is impeded from flowing around the processingcartridges 43 by plenum chamber floor member 94 and is impeded fromflowing to the PSUs 81 by CSSP/PSU divider 96. This flow path ααtherefore ensures that air flowing to the CSSPs 71 is not warmed bypassage though the processing cartridges 43 and therefore providesmaximum efficiency cooling to the CSSPs 71.

The flow of cooling air along path γγ enters the shelf 41 through theperforations 115 in the front face of the information processingcartridges 43. The air thus enters the information processing cartridges43 and provides cooling to the components thereof. Cooling fans (notshown) within the information processing cartridges 43 direct thecooling air to the processor (CPU) of the information processingcartridge and direct the flow of air in the cartridge thereby increasingcooling efficiency. The air then exits the information processingcartridges 43 through the perforations 117 in the rear face thereof. Theair then passes through the apertures 185 through the midplane 171 toreach the PSUs 81. This cooling air then passes though the perforations157 on the front and upper front faces of the PSUs 81 to enter the PSUsand provide cooling to components thereof. It will be appreciated fromFIG. 10 that the sloping rear of the upper face of the PSUs 81 increasesthe area over which air can be drawn into the PSUs, thereby reducing theback pressure on the air flowing through the shelf unit and aiding thecooling efficiency. The flow of cooling air along path γγ is driven byfans 85 mounted within the PSUs 81. In the present example, a pair offans 85 is provided within each PSU 81 and are mounted against the rearface thereof.

Air reaching the PSUs 81 via path γγ will already have passed throughthe processing cartridges 43. Such air will therefore be already warmedabove the ambient temperature outside of the shelf 41 by its passagethrough the processing cartridges 43. However, as the coolingrequirement of the PSUs 81 is typically less than that for the CSSPs 71,this does not cause any difficulty in the operation of the PSUs 81,which are adequately cooled by this flow of pre-warmed air. Thepre-warmed air passing through the apertures 185 through the midplane171 is impeded from flowing into path αα and entering the CSSPs 71 bythe SCCP/PSU divider 96.

As will be appreciated by the skilled addressee, the arrangement shownin FIG. 10 is illustrative only and other arrangements whereby, forexample, a mixture of cool air from the plenum chamber 66 and warmed airfrom the processing cartridges 43 is provided to each rear-mounted FRUcan readily be constructed.

With reference to FIG. 11, there now follows a description of functionalelements of an information processing cartridge 43 as contained withinthe information processing cartridge enclosure 101.

The information processing cartridge 43 includes a microprocessor 192 (anon-limiting example of a microprocessor that can be utilised in thepresent example is an UltraSPARC™ processor). The microprocessor ismounted on an information processing cartridge motherboard 191.

A configurable clock generator 193, configured as a programmable clocksynthesizer employing a crystal, can be used to produce CPU clocksignals, CLKA and CLKB. The clock frequency can be determined by jumpersettings (not shown). A vectored interrupt controller (I-Chip) 194 and aconfigurable core voltage regulator module (VRM) 195 are provided.

In the present example, memory means for use by the processor 192 whenexecuting instructions can be provided in the form of buffered dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), for example configured as dual in linememory modules (DIMMs) 196 with a 72-bit data path with error correctioncodes (ECC), seated in two sockets on a riser card from the informationprocessing cartridge motherboard 191. The memory capacity can be chosento suit the processor addressable memory space. For example, in thepresent example, up to 4 Gigabytes (4 GB) of addressable memory can beprovided. Serial Presence Detect (SPD) auto-configuration is providedvia a Service Management Bus (SMBus) over an I2C bus 197.

In the present example, a PCI bus architecture can be employed with aso-called SouthBridge bus bridge 199 with SuperIO and two Gb EthernetMedia Access Control (MAC) devices. As described above, however, otherbus protocols (e.g., Infiniband) can be used. A 32 bit PCI bus 198 canbe provided from the microprocessor 192. The SouthBridge 199 is astandard form of bus bridge, in the present example packaged in a 352pin PBGA (Plastic Ball Grid Array) package, that provides the followingfunctions: an SM Bus interface over the I2C bus 197 for access to theSPD (Serial Presence Detect) feature of the DIMMs that allowsinitialization of the memory controller; an Xbus interface for accessvia an Xbus 200 (which is a packet switched multiprocessor bus) to aPROM 201, a real time clock (RTC) 202 and an information processingcartridge service controller (hereinafter termed a Blade ServiceController (BSC)) 203; an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) interfacethat provides an ATA-100 (AT Attachment) IDE connection 204 to an IDEdisk drive 205; and a serial console interface on a service bus 206 tothe BSC 203 that is used for operating system functions including aconsole function with this embodiment.

For IO to the midplane 171, two AC-coupled Ethernet interfaces 207 and208 are provided in the present example, which are packaged in a 316 pinPBGA. These Ethernet interfaces can provide a PCI attached Ethernet MACcapable of operation up to Gigabit Ethernet performance. The physicallayer can be implemented using SERializer/DESerializers (SERDESs) 209and 210. An example of a SERDES device is the TLK2201 transceivermanufactured by Texas Instruments, Inc. The SERDES devices usedifferential PECL TX+/− and RX+/− (Positive Emitter Coupled LogicTransmit and Receive) pairs to communicate to the switch portions of theCSSPs 71 over the midplane 171. The RX+/− pairs can be AC coupled at theinformation processing cartridge 43, the TX+/− pairs can be AC coupledat each CSSP 71. This facilitates hot-swap of the information processingcartridges 43 and the CSSPs 71.

Asynchronous serial connections 211 and 212 for communication betweenthe BSC 203 and the Service Processor parts of the CSSPs 71 can beprovided.

Internal data storage can be provided in the present example by a harddisk 205 with a capacity of 30 GB or more rated for 24/7 continuousoperation. The hard disk 205 is accessed using the primary IDE interfaceof the SouthBridge 199. The hard disk 205 can hold an operating system,for example a Solaris operating system, and other software and data forperforming information processing using the main, or host, processor(CPU) within the information processing cartridge 43.

In the present implementation, the BSC 203 can be implemented as amicrocontroller (e.g., a Hitachi H8 microcontroller). The BSC 203 canprovide various functions, including for example: dual access (for theinformation processing cartridges and the CSSPs 71) to PROM 201 andEEPROM 213 for boot information and a FRU-ID for the informationprocessing cartridge; channelling communication between an informationprocessing cartridge 43 and the service processor part of the CSSPs 71;control of power on reset (POR), system reset and externally initiatedreset (XIR) to the microprocessor 192; control of the power,service-required and ready-to-remove LEDs 69; upgrading offield-upgradable firmware, via the serial interface; a watchdog functionfor the operating system; monitoring the speed of a CPU fan 214; andcommunications with an EEPROM 215 and the operating system via the Xbus200.

In the present example, the BSC 203 can be powered by a 5V service bus(SB) rail as soon as a CSSP 71 and a PSU 81 are fully inserted into themidplane 171, it then turns on other DC/DC converters to provide powerto the remainder of the information processing cartridge 43. A BSC resetsignal can be derived from a simple conventional power on reset (POR)generator that monitors a 5V supply rail.

In the present example a 1MByte Flash PROM 201 can be provided forstoring boot variables for OpenBoot™ PROM (OBP) and Power-On-Self-Test(POST). Further OBP variables can be stored in a second 16 kByte (16 kB)I2C PROM 215, accessible via the SouthBridge SM Bus port over the IC Bus197. The PROM 215 can contain 8 kByte for OBP variables and 8 kByte ofunused space. A 16 kByte I2C EEPROM 213 that is accessible via the BSC203 can contain BSC variables and FRU-ID variables. The EEPROM isnominally divided into 8 kByte for FRU-ID and 8 kByte for the BSCvariables. Write protection for the FRU-ID is implemented by BSCfirmware. Such write protection may be carried out by, for example,acknowledging instructions to write to the protected area, but not tocarry out those write instructions.

An environmental monitor sensor 215 can be provided to monitor the CPUand ambient temperatures. This sensor can be accessible via the onboardI2C bus from the BSC 203.

The information processing cartridge 43 can be powered from two, diodecommoned, 9V power supply rails 216 and 217. DC/DC converters 218 can beused to provide the voltage levels required by the informationprocessing cartridge 43. The DC/DC converters 218 are supplied by dual9V inputs 216, 217, individually fused 219, 220 and then diode commoned221, 222. A 5V DC/DC converter can be turned on as soon as the FRU isfully inserted, with the BSC 203 and required portions of theSouthBridge 199 being powered (the 5VSB rail). A field effect transistor(FET) can be used to gate off the main 5V supply to the rest of theinformation processing cartridge 43. The DC/DC converter outputs and themain 5V FET can be arranged not to turn on until the BSC 203 turns themon via a signal from the SouthBridge 199. The SouthBridge 199 can beused so that if the BSC 203 is reset (by a watchdog timeout or after afirmware download) the state of the DC/DC converters 218 is notaffected. When the remaining outputs from the DC/DC converters 218 arewithin specification, a PWR_GOOD signal can be asserted low to the BSC203.

A SouthBridge resume circuit can be operable to run from 3V3, and asimple Zener diode dropper circuit can be used to generate 3V3 from the5VSB supply.

When the FRU is inserted the inrush current can be limited, for exampleto <1A, and the rate of rise can be configured not to exceed apredetermined value (e.g., 20A/s) to provide a so-called soft start tofacilitate hot-insertion. The intent is to prevent damage to theconnectors and to avoid generating noise. A soft start controller 223,which controls a ramping-up of voltage levels, can be enabled when thepredetermined signal (Inserted_L signal) is asserted low, this signal ison a short pin in the connector and is connected to ground (GND—notshown) through the midplane 171.

In the present example, a processor impingement fan (processor fan) 214is configured to run at full speed to cool the information processingcartridge 43 and the fan. The speed of the processor fan and sink can bemonitored by the BSC 203, using a tachometer sense pin on themicrocontroller. In the event of the fan speed falling below apredetermined speed, or percentage of its nominal speed (e.g., 80%), theBSC 203 can be arranged to issue an alert. The nominal speed of the fancan be recorded as part of the BSC EEPROM contents.

The midplane connector 120 for the information processing cartridge 43is used to establish the connection between the information processingcartridge 43 and the midplane. In the present example it supports up to84 connections (pins) that will deliver SERDES outputs 224, 225, I2Csignals 226, 227, and power 216, 217. Signal connections may be madethrough a right-angled connector. Power connections may be made throughthe information processing cartridge right-angled connector. Theconnector can be configured to facilitate hotswapping of the informationprocessing cartridge, for example by having a low insertion force and/orguide pins to increase the ease of serviceability and prevent modulemisalignment during insertion.

Interrupts to the processor 192 can be encoded using an encodedinterrupt vector mechanism. An I-Chip Emulator (ICE) 228 functions as aninterrupt concentrator, receiving all system interrupts and encodingthem as an interrupt vector according to an interrupt vector codeutilisable by the processor 192. In the present example, where anUltraSPARC™ processor is used, the interrupt vector encoding may bebased on a 6-bit interrupt vector code.

With reference to FIG. 12, there now follows a description of an exampleof a combined switch and service processor (CSSP) 71. In the presentexample, each CSSP 71 provides the functionality of a Switch 73 and of aShelf Service Processor, or Shelf Service Processor (SSP) 74.

FIG. 12 provides an overview of the functional components of the CSSP 71including functional components of the Switch 73 and functionalcomponents of the SSP 74. In the present example, most of the componentsrelating to the Switch 73 are mounted on a Switch PCB 231, and thecomponents relating to the SSP 75 are provided on a SSP PCB 232.However, it should be noted that the components located in the lowerportion of the switch PCB 321 (i.e., that portion below the SSP PCB 232as illustrated in FIG. 12 logically belong to the SSP 74, rather than tothe switch 73. It will be appreciated that such component arrangementsare not compulsory for successful operation and that any other componentarrangement over any number of component boards can be easily achievedusing conventional component arrangement techniques.

Firstly, with reference to FIG. 12, there follows a description offunctional elements of the Switch portions 73 of a CSSP 71 as containedwithin the CSSP enclosure 121.

The midplane connector 141 on the CSSP 71 establishes the connectionbetween the CSSP 71 and the midplane 171. In the present example, itsupports up to 84 connections (pins) that will deliver SERDES outputs265–268, I2C signals 310, 320, 321 and 322, and power 278, 279. Signalconnections may be made through two 20-pair right-angled connectors.Power connections may be made through a right-angled connector. Theconnector can be configured to facilitate hotswapping of the board, forexample with a low insertion force. The connector also uses guide pinsto increase the ease of serviceability and prevent module misalignmentduring insertion.

A switch microprocessor 240 is provided, in the present example themicroprocessor used is a Power PC (MPC8245) packaged in a 352pin TapeBall Grid Array (TBGA) package. This microprocessor 240 supports between1 MB and 2 GB of address space in the present example. It furtherincludes an Embedded Programmable Interrupt Controller (EPIC) thatprovides 5 hardware interrupts (IRQs) or 16 serial interrupts. There are4 programmable timers with cascade mode function. DRAM memory for theprocessor can provided in the present example by a commodity DIMM 242.The processor 240 can be connected to a 32 bit PCI bus 241, whichoperates at, for example, 33 MHz/66 MHz.

A clock input to the processor 240 can be provided by a clock generator(CLK) 243. The CLK 243 can include a configurable clock generator (notshown) implemented as a programmable clock synthesiser employing acrystal used to produce CPU clock signals. The clock frequency can bedetermined by jumper settings (not shown). A vectored interruptcontroller (I-Chip) (not shown) and a configurable core voltageregulator module (VRM) (not shown) can be provided that operatesubstantially as described above with reference to the like componentsof FIG. 11.

In the present embodiment two switch ASICs (application specificintegrated circuits) 244, 245 are provided (in the present example,BCM5632 Gigabit switch ASICs). Each ASIC can provide twelve GMIIInterfaces (1 Gigabit Ethernet) (for uplinks and downlinks) and one 10Gb XGMII interface for chip-to-chip communication (bridging) 246 betweenthe ASICs 244 and 245. Sixteen GMII 1 Gb ‘downlinks’, in the form ofserialized Gb Ethernet data, are provided through four quad SERDES248–251 to allow each information processing cartridge 43 to communicatewith the switch 73. Eight GMII 1 Gb ‘uplinks’ are provided for externalcommunication through two quad PHYs 253 and 254 (in the present exampleBCM5404 ASICs) and RJ45 connectors on the rear panel 122. The ASICs 244and 245 are configured via a PCI interface (32 bit/33 MHz) to the PCIbus 241.

A Flash PROM 256 can store a real time operating system, and managementand configuration data for the microprocessor. The Flash PROM 256 in thepresent example can be operable to hold 8 MB-16 MB of data, depending onthe software required. The flash PROM 256 can be operated via an on-chipXBus 258.

Also connected to communicate with the processor 240 via the XBus 258, aReal Time Clock (RTC) 259 can be provided for real-time functions with aback-up battery.

Also connected to the XBus 258 can be a UART (Universal AsynchronousReceiver Transmitter) 260 which in turn connects to a serial bus 261 forproviding an asynchronous console connection from the switch 73 to theSSP 74 which can be accessed by the SSP.

An integrated MAC/PHY (Media Access Control/Physical) switch 271 canprovides its own interface to the PCI bus 241. This MAC/PHY switch 271can connects to a 10/100 Ethernet hub 272. The hub 272 can be operableto provide a management interface to the SSP 74 and a connection from anexternal management network to the switch 73 and SSP 74 of a given CSSP71. The connection from the integrated MAC/PHY device 271 to the SSP 74can be coupled capacitively. A loopback mode can be provided by theMAC/PHY device 271 for system diagnostics. The hub 272 can connect to anRJ45 connector 273 on the rear panel 122 of the CSSP enclosure 121.

An 8 kByte I2C EEPROM 262 can be used to store the FRU-ID and isaccessible by the SSP portion 74 of each CSSP 71 via a serial bus 263and the midplane 171. The upper 2 kByte of the EEPROM 262 can beconfigured to be write protected.

An I2C Redundant Control Register (RCR) 275 can be used to provide analternate, redundant path for powering-down the CSSP 71 and Shelf LevelIndicators 69 mounted on the front 57 and rear 59 panels of the shelf41. The I2C RCR 275 can be accessible by both the SSP 74 of the CSSP 71containing the RCR and the SSP 74 of a further CSSP 71 connected via themidplane 171 via an I2C bus 276. In the present example, a devicesuitable for use as the RCR 275 is a Phillips PCF8574 IC.

With continued reference to FIG. 12, there now follows a description offunctional elements of the Shelf Service Processor (SSP) portion 74 of aCSSP 71 as contained within the CSSP enclosure 121 and provided on anSSP PCB 232.

In the present example, communication between the Switch PCB 231 and theSSP PCB 232 is facilitated by an interboard connector pair 298 and 299.It supports connections (pins) for I2C signals, 10/100 MAC/PHY output,and power. As described above, the switch PCB 231 carries the componentsassociated with the switch, and it also carries the power, FRU-ID andenvironmental monitoring components along with the connectors forconnections to the midplane 171 and external connectors. Thus, in thepresent example, all SSP components requiring a connection to themidplane 171 or an external connection have signal paths routed throughthe connector pair 298, 299 and via the switch PCB 231 to the relevantmidplane or external connectors.

In the present example, the SSP 74 includes a microprocessor 301 (e.g.,a Power PC (MPC8245) processor) mounted on the SSP printed circuit board(PCB) 232. The processor 301 can be connected to a PCI bus 302, thepresent instance a 32 bit bus that operates, for example, at 33 MHz/66MHz.

A clock input to the processor 301 can be provided by a clock generator(CLK) 303. The CLK 303 can comprise a configurable clock generator (notshown) implemented as a programmable clock synthesiser employing acrystal used to produce CPU clock signals. The clock frequency can bedetermined by jumper settings (not shown). A vectored interruptcontroller (I-Chip) (not shown) and a configurable core voltageregulator module (VRM) (not shown) can be provided that operatesubstantially as described above with reference to the like componentsof FIG. 11.

The processor 301 can be provided with a DRAM memory 305. The memorycapacity can be chosen to suit the processor addressable memory space.In the present example, 8 MB of DRAM memory is provided.

An integrated MAC/PHY switch 306 can provide its own interface to thePCI bus 302. The MAC/PHY switch 271 can be connected to 10/100 Ethernethub 272 via the interboard connectors 298, 299. A loopback mode can beprovided by the MAC/PHY switch 306 for system diagnostics.

Octal UARTs 308 and 309 can be connected between the PCI bus 302 and theinterboard connector pair 298, 299. The signal path can be continuedfrom the interboard connector pair 298, 299 to serial connections 310 onthe midplane connector 141 on switch PCB 231. The Octal UARTS 308, 309can facilitate serial communications between the SSP 74 and each of theprocessing cartridges 43.

Also connected to the PCI Bus 302 can be a dual UART (DUART) 312 that inturn can connect via the interboard connectors 298, 299 to serial bus261 for providing an asynchronous console connection from the SSP 74 tothe switch 73. The DUART 312 can also have an I2C connection to anexternal connector on the rear face 122 of the CSSP enclosure 121. Theexternal connector can provide a common operating system/boot consoleand command port 311.

Connected to the processor 301 via an XBus 314 can be a Flash PROM 315.The Flash PROM 315 can store a real time operating system, andmanagement and configuration data for the microprocessor 301. The FlashPROM 315 can be operable in the present example to hold up to 2 MB ofdata, depending on the software required.

Also connected to the processor 301 via the XBus 214 can be a real timeclock (RTC) 316 for real-time functions with a backup battery. The RTC316 can also provide 8 kByte of non-volatile random access memory(NVRAM), in the present instance implemented as an EEPROM. This can beused to contain information such as the FRU-ID, a serial number andother FRU information.

To facilitate I2C communications between the SSP 74 and the other CSSP71, the midplane 171 and the PSUs 81, a multiplexer 318 can be provided.The multiplexer 318 can have a single I2C connection to the processor301 and connections, via the interboard connector pair 298, 299 and themidplane connector 141 to both PSUs 81, the midplane 171 and the otherCSSP 71.

The processor 301 can also comprise an embedded DUART to provide aredundant serial link to the SSP 74 of the other CSSP 71. Although itwould be possible to implement this link using an external DUART, theadvantage of using an embedded DUART is that the connection to the otherCSSP is reliable and therefore likely to be functional. Where theembedded DUART link does not use the I2C Multiplexer for communicationsto the other CSSP, a common mode of failure for both the SSP-SSP I2Clinks can be avoided, it being assumed that the processor 301 is likelyto be functional even if both embedded DUART channels arenon-functional.

The CSSP 71 can powered from two, diode commoned, 9V power supply rails278 and 279. DC/DC converters 281 can be used to provide the voltagelevels required by the CSSP 71. The DC/DC converters 281 can be suppliedby dual 9V inputs 278, 279, individually fused 285, 286 and then diodecommoned 287, 288. A soft start controller 283 can be provided tofacilitate hot-insertion. A 5V DC/DC converter (I2C power regulator) 282can be turned on as soon as the CSSP 71 is fully inserted. A 3.3V DC/DCconverter can be turned on when instructed, for example through SSPservice software, by asserting low an appropriate signal (ON_L—notshown). The 3.3V converter can be arranged to turn on a converted for2.5V, 1.2V, and a processor core voltage rail (Vcore) when the voltagesare within an appropriate range.

When the CSSP 71 is inserted the inrush current can be limited, forexample to <1A, and the rate of rise can be configured not to exceed apredetermined value (e.g., 20A/s) to provide a so-called soft start tofacilitate hot-insertion. The intent is to prevent damage to theconnectors and to avoid generating noise. A soft start controller 283,which controls a ramping-up of voltage levels, can be enabled when thepredetermined signal (Inserted_L signal) is asserted low, this signal ison a short pin in the connector and is connected to ground (GND—notshown) through the midplane 171 until one of the supplies is removed.These circuits can be configured to withstand an overvoltage at theirinputs whilst the input they are feeding is not powered, without anyleakage to the unpowered circuit. A sense circuit can detect if thevoltage has dropped below a threshold, for example 2.0V, as a result ofa blown fuse, a power rail going down, etc. The DC/DC converters 281 canbe protected against short circuit of their outputs so that no damageoccurs.

The I2C regulator 282 can be powered as soon as the CSSP 71 is fullyinserted into the midplane 171. This can be facilitated through shortpins connected to the soft start controller 283, which controls aramping-up of voltage levels. The other DC/DC regulators can be turnedon, for example by SSP software.

A pair of fans 290, 291 can provide cooling to the CSSP 71. The fans290, 291 can be configured to run at full speed to preventovertemperature conditions by minimizing the temperature of the internalcomponents and the fan. The speed of the fans 290, 291 can be monitoredby the SSP 74 through an environmental monitor 295 on the switch board231. The environmental monitor 295 can be alerted in the event of thefan speed falling below a predetermined value (e.g., 80% of its nominalspeed). The fan can provide tachometer outputs to facilitate themeasurement of fan speed.

LED indicators 137 can be provided, for example with a green power LED,an amber LED for indicating that service is required and a blue LED forindicating that the switch is ready to be removed. LED indicatorsintegrated on 2×4 stacked RJ45 connectors on the rear face of the CSSP71 can be arranged, for example, to show green continually when the linkis present and flash green when the link is active.

The environmental monitor ENV MON 295 can be provided to maintainoperational integrity of the CSSP 71. The ENV MON 295 can include limitvalues in limit registers and can monitor, for example, temperaturewithin the CSSP enclosure 121, the CSSP power rails, including the 12V,3V3, Switch Processor Core Voltage, CSSP Processor Core Voltage and thetwo 9V power feed rails 278, 279 from the midplane 171. The outputs ofthe DC/DC converters 281 can be fed in to A/D inputs of the ENV MON 295for Watchdog comparisons to be made to the voltage limits set in thelimit registers. As noted above, the ENV MON 295 can also monitor theoperating speeds of the fans 290 and 291. The ENV MON 295 cancommunicate with the SSP 74 of both CSSPs via an I2C bus 296.

For IO to the midplane 171 shown in FIGS. 8A–10, the midplane connector141 can include sixteen 1 Gb Ethernet connections 265–268 from four quadSERDES 248–251 and the I2C bus lines 596.

The SSP 74 can access the I2C devices (FRU-ID EEPROM, 8-bit I/Oexpansion chip, and the system hardware monitor) through the midplane171.

For external IO, rear panel Gb Ethernet connections can be provided fromthe two quad PHYs 253, 254 to 2×4 stacked RJ45 connectors 139 (to give 8uplinks). Each port can be an independent 10/100/1000 BASE-T (autonegotiating) port. The PHY devices 253, 254 can operate in GMII mode toreceive signals from the 8-Gigabit interfaces on the ASICs 244, 245.

The Power Supply Units (PSUs) 81 can configured such that when two ormore PSUs 81 are connected in parallel in the shelf 41, failure of anyone of the paralleled units shall not affect system operation. Moreover,one of the PSUs can be installed or removed from a “live” system with orwithout input power applied. The outputs can have overcurrentprotection.

The PSU can have an I2C interface to provide power supply status via themidplane 171. The PSU can have an internal temperature sensor thatreports via the I2C interface. The PSU fan speed can also be monitoredand errors are reported via the I2C interface. Overvoltage andovercurrent sensors can also report via the I2C interface.

There now follows a description of aspects of an example of a powersupply 81 with particular reference to FIG. 13.

When a power supply (e.g. mains power, or UPS type protected power) isconnected to the cable connector 83, transformer, regulator andrectifier circuitry 400 can operate to generate a DC output (in thepresent example, 12V DC) from the input (in the present example 230/240V50 Hz AC or 110V 60 Hz AC).

In order to ensure good cooling reliability within the shelf 41, eachPSU 81 can have a pair of cooling fans 402, 403 located at the rear ofthe PSU enclosure as described above with reference to FIG. 7. As afailsafe measure against a failure of one PSU 81, the fans of each PSU81 can be powered by both PSUs 81. Thus, in the event that one PSU 81 isnon-operative to produce the DC supply for the shelf 41, as long as theother PSU 81 is operative, not only will all components of the shelf 41be powered as normal, the fans of both PSUs 81 can continue to run.

As shown in FIG. 13, this dual powering of cooling fans 402, 403 can beeffected by providing a power supply line 404 from the transformer,regulator and rectifier circuitry 400 to power both fans 402, 403. Also,first and second separate power lines 410, 412 from the other PSU 81 canprovide duplicate power supply to the first and second fans 402, 403respectively. The fan 402 can thus be powered by a diode commoned supplyfrom line 404 and a diode commoned supply from line 410. Diodeprotection can be provided by diodes 405 and 411 respectively. The speedof the fan 402 can be controlled by a speed controller 408. Similarlythe fan 403 can be powered by a diode commoned supply from line 404 anda diode commoned supply from line 412. Diode protection can be providedby diodes 406 and 414 respectively. The speed of the fan 403 can becontrolled by a speed controller 409.

The two speed controllers 408, 409 can in turn be controlled by a datainput from each CSSP 71 received via an I2C bus connection (not shown inFIG. 13). Power supply lines carrying DC power for the other FRUs of theshelf 41 are shown in FIG. 13 as power line 416. All power connectionsto and from the PSU 81 can connect to the midplane 171 when the PSU isinserted in the shelf 41 via the midplane connector 163. In the presentexample the PSU 81 connects to the shelf through a 5P/24S/6Pconfiguration SSI-MPS compliant right angle connector 163 at the frontface 147 of the PSU 81. Connectors for the I2C interface can also beprovided.

The input power line 410 and 412 for each fan 402 and 403 can beprovided with a softstart module 4131 and 4132 respectively, to allowfor hot insertion of the PSU 81 into the shelf 41. The softstart modules4131 and 4132 can be controlled, for example, by pulling a signal toground (e.g., a “mated” input line 4151 and 4152).

Where the two input power lines 410 and 412 are separate lines havingseparate softstart provision, there is no common failure mode for thebackup method of powering the fans 402, 403. Thus even if the PSU 81ceases to be operable to generate the DC supply, and a component (powerline or softstart module for example) fails in the supply path from thesecond PSU 81 to the fans 402, 403, at least one of the fans 402, 403can remain operational as the shelf 41 still receives the cooling effectof three PSU fans.

In the present example, the power supply has four rear panel LEDindicators 137. A blue “Ready to Remove” LED can be driven by the I2Cinterface and indicate that the power supply may be removed from thesystem. An amber “Service Required” LED can be driven by the I2Cinterface and indicate that the power supply is in a fault condition:any output out of range, over-temperature or shutdown. A green “DCOutput-OK” indicator can be driven by internal power supply circuits andshow that the main 12 volt supply is functioning. The LEDs can remainlighted when individual outputs are in the current limited mode ofoperation. A green “AC Input-OK” indicator can be driven by internalpower supply circuits and show that AC input power is within normaloperating range.

With reference to FIG. 14, there will now be described an example ofdata connectivity between the FRUs and midplane of the shelf 41. Powertransmission paths are not illustrated in FIG. 14. However, it will beappreciated that to facilitate the maximum component redundancy of theshelf 41, each PSU 81 can independently provide power to each FRU.

In the present example each of the processing cartridges (blades) 43connects to the midplane 171 via a pair of information signalconnections (e.g. Gb Ethernet links) 224, 225 and a pair of serialmanagement signal connections 226, 227. Connections within the midplane171 can ensure that each Ethernet link 224 is directed to a connection265–268 from the midplane 171 to a first switch 73, and that eachEthernet link 225 is directed to a connection 265–268 from the midplane171 to a second switch 73. Thus one Ethernet link can be establishedbetween each processing cartridge 43 and the switch 73 of each CSSP 71.Further connections within the midplane 171 can ensure that each serialconnection 226 is directed to a connection 310 from the midplane 171 tothe first SSP 74 and that each serial connection 227 is directed to thesecond SSP 74. Thus one serial link can be established between eachprocessing cartridge 43 and the SSP 74 of each CSSP 71. As mentionedearlier, information signal connections other than Gb Ethernetconnections (e.g. Infinband connections) could be employed in otherexamples.

A plurality of serial connections can connect each SSP 74 to the other.Serial lines 320, 321 can connect each SSP 74 to the midplane 171 andconnections within the midplane can connect the two sets of linestogether. To provide a control interface from the SSPs 74 to the PSUs81, serial lines 322 can connect each SSP 74 to the midplane 171 andconnections within the midplane 171 can connect to serial lines 324 fromthe midplane 171 to each PSU 81.

An example of data and control connectivity of the shelf 41 to and fromcomputer systems external to the shelf 41 when the shelf 41 is arrangedfor use within a multiprocessor server system such as that describedabove with reference to FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.15.

As summarised above with reference to FIG. 14, in the present exampleeach processing cartridge, or blade, 43 is connected to the switch 73 ofeach CSSP 71 by an information signal connection (e.g. a 1 Gb Ethernetlink) formed by a combination of links 224, 225 from the processingcartridge 43 to the midplane 171, connections within the midplane 171and links 265–268 from the midplane 171 to each switch 73.

Further, in this example a set of serial management signal connectionscomprising links 320, 321 and connections within the midplane 171connect the SSP 74 of each CSSP 71 to the SSP 74 of the other CSSP 71.

To provide external data connectivity between the shelf 41 and anexternal core data network 330, in association with which allinformation processing performed by the processing cartridges 43 of theshelf 41 is undertaken, connections 331 can be formed between the coredata network 330 and the eight 1 Gb Ethernet ports 139 provided on therear panel 122 of the CSSP enclosure 121.

In the present example, the connections by means of which control andconfiguration of the shelf 41 are performed are entirely separate to theconnections to the core data network 330. Therefore, a first externalswitch 335 can connect to a management (I2C) port 273 of the first CSSP71 and a second external switch 336 can connect to a management (I2C)port 273 of the second CSSP 72. As described above with reference toFIG. 12, the management port 273 can provide a management networkinterface to both the switch 73 and SSP 74 of each CSSP 71. The externalswitches 335, 336 can each be connected to each of a pair of SystemManagement Server (SMSs) 338, 339. The SMS is not essential to theoperation of the shelf 41, but use thereof aids optimal operation of theshelf 41. In a typical multiprocessor server system a plurality ofshelves 41 may be connected together via the core data network 330 underthe control of a single management network utilising one set of SMSs338, 339. A set of SMSs 338, 339 may comprise a single SMS (as well as aplurality thereof). However use of at least two SMSs enables redundancyof components, therefore increasing overall system reliability.

A serial interface control 343 operable under telnet protocol control isalso connected to the shelf 41 in the present example. This can providea common operating system/boot console connection to the SSP 74 of bothCSSPs 71 via the RJ45 connector 311 on the rear panel 122 of each CSSPenclosure 121.

It will be appreciated from the above that a flexible and scalablemodular computer architecture has been described. In the describedexample up to 16 information processing cartridges, or blades 43, can beconfigured as sealed FRUs on a single shelf 41, the number of bladesbeing chosen according to customer requirements. Each blade has its ownprocessor and random access memory. If, for example, there is a maximumof 2 Gbytes of memory per information processing cartridge, and oneprocessor per blade, 16 processors (16P) with 5.33 processors per unitheight (1U) and a total of 32 GB of memory per shelf can be provided.

In the present example, the shelf 41 incorporates redundant combinedswitch and shelf service processor modules (CSSPs) 71 and redundantpower supply units (PSUs) 81 separate from the blades 43. As the powersupplies are carried by the shelf, the information processing cartridgescan be kept compact and inexpensive. Also, as a result, they can bepowered by DC power only, via the midplane 171.

Also, as mentioned earlier, the FRUs (e.g., the information processingcartridges, or blades, 43, the CSSPs 71 and the PSUs 81) can all beconfigured as sealed units that do not contain any internal FRUsthemselves and do not contain user serviceable items. The enclosures ofthe FRUs can be arranged to enclose all of the functional components ofthe FRU with only electrical connectors being externally accessible andwith indicator LEDs being externally visible as well.

These factors can all contribute to keeping the cost of the FRUs low, aswell as that of the overall system. The modular approach with the use ofsealed modular field replaceable units for providing systemfunctionality and with non-field replaceable units designed with aminimum possible number of active components enhances reliability.Moreover, easy and rapid maintenance is facilitated in the event of afailure of a FRU by simple replacement of that FRU, further reducing thecost of ownership.

Thus, it will be appreciated from the above description that theprovision of a rack mountable shelf, that includes power supplies, ashelf service processor and switches in modular units, for carrying anumber of processing cartridges, wherein the number of processingcartridges can be chosen according to customer requirements, provides aflexible and scalable computer configuration. The balancing of the loadbetween the processors of the processing cartridges can be effected bysoftware using conventional principles.

A configuration as described provides an easily scalable processorarchitecture, whereby the processing power provided by a complete systembased on the information processing cartridge/information processingcartridge carrier architecture can be scalable from moderate to veryhigh capacity through the simple addition of further informationprocessing cartridges.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, an example of the external connections from ashelf 41 can be in the form of two active information signal connections(e.g., Ethernet connections) 350 and 351, two active power connections353 and an active/standby pair of management connections 354. Withregard to the management connections, each connection comprises a serialconnection and a network (e.g. Ethernet or Infiniband) connection. It ispossible to connect to either the active or the standby connection, asthe incoming signal will be internally routed to whichever managementcontroller (CSSP) is the current master. It will be appreciated,therefore, that the connections to a shelf can be kept to a minimum. Itwill further be appreciated from the configuration shown in FIG. 16 thatthe system is scalable beyond a single shelf unit 41.

FIG. 17 illustrates how a plurality of shelves can be configured withinone (or more) racks to provide even higher processing power. Such aconstellation of shelves to provide a large grouping of servers issometimes termed a “web farm” or “server farm” 360. As shown in FIG. 17,the web farm comprises a plurality of shelves 41 that each carry aplurality of blades 43. Also provided are a plurality of NetworkAttached Storage devices (NAS) 373 for providing storage for criticaldata, e.g. email data storage, for the web farm. The NASs 373 are notrequired if there is no critical data to be stored, e.g. if the web farmis operating solely to provide web caching services.

Management control of the web farm 360 can be provided through a pair ofSystem Management Servers (SMSs) 362. Each SMS 362 can be connected to amanagement network via a link 366 and to a management console 365. TheSMSs 362 can communicate with the individual shelves 41 via a pair ofmanagement switches 364. Each shelf 41 and NAS 373 can be connected toeach management switch 364 via a connection 367. Thus dual redundantmanagement connections can be provided to each shelf 41 and NAS 373.

Flow of data to and from the web farm 360 can be provided through a pairof data switches 369. Each data switch 369 can be connected to aconsumer network via a link 370. It is to be understood that theconsumer network can be a larger data network to which the web farm 360is connected. This network can be an office or corporation intranet, alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet or anyother network. Connections between the data switches and the shelves 41can be facilitated by connections 371. It is to be noted that as eachshelf has its own switching capability, there is no need for each shelf41 to be directly connected to the data switches 369. Connections canalso be provided to connect the NAS units 373 to the shelves 41. Thetopology used for interconnection of the data switches 369, shelves 41and NASs 373 can be any topology providing at least one connection ofany length between every possible pair of units. Complex topologiesarranged to minimise the maximum connection length between any two givenunits in the web farm can be used.

The web farm 360 comprising a plurality of shelves 41 with or without aplurality of NASs 373 can suitably be used as any or all of the entryedge server group 9, web edge server group 15 and application servers 19described above with reference to FIG. 1.

As an alternative to providing critical data storage within a NAS 373,such storage can be provided within one or more NAS cartridges fittedinto one or more of the shelves 41 in place of processing cartridges 43.Another alternative is to provide a server shelf with local storage(such as a RAID array (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) in place ofthe NAS 373.

Thus there has now been described an example of a fully configurablecomputing system based on a plurality of self contained fieldreplaceable units (FRUs) and scalable from a single processing cartridgewith power supply and switching capability to a multiply redundantmultiprocessor server system with full system management capabilityextending over a number of co-operably connected server shelves. It willof course be readily apparent to the skilled reader that many of thespecific features specified in the above description are in no waylimiting and a variety of alternatives may be produced using onlyordinary skill and common general knowledge. Non-limiting examples ofexample modifications which may be made to the above described systemare discussed hereafter.

There is no limit placed on the processing cartridges as to whatsoftware they should run. Each module within a shelf or farm may rununder the same operating system, or a plurality of different operatingsystems may be used. Examples of possible operating systems include SunMicrosystems' Solaris® OS or another UNIX™-Type OS such as Linux™,MINIX™, or Irix™, or UNIX™or a Microsoft OS such as Windows NT™, Windows2000™, Windows ME/98/95™, Windows XP™.

It is also not necessary that each processing cartridge within a shelfor farm be configured to run the same program software. For example,individual processing cartridges may be configured to execute, forexample, fileserver software, mailserver software, webhosting software,database software, firewall software, or verification software.

Although it has been described above with reference to FIGS. 4, 8, 12,13 and 14, that functionality of a switch and of a shelf serviceprocessor should be provided within a single combined switch and serviceprocessor unit, this is not essential and separate switch and shelfservice processor field replaceable units may be used.

Although it has been described above that a pair of PSUs and a pair ofCSSPs may be provided so as to enable dual-redundancy, further PSUs andCSSPs may be provided so as to increase FRU redundancy further, thusproviding statistically higher reliability.

In the power supply circuitry in each of the blades and CSSPs, twovoltage sense circuits may be provided after the fuses and before thediodes, to prevent a latent fault caused by a failed fuse goingundetected until one of the PSUs is removed or taken offline. Suchcircuits may configured to withstand an overvoltage at their inputswhilst the input they are feeding is not powered, without any leakage tothe unpowered circuit.

Although it has been described above with particular reference to FIG.11 that the processing module may be based on an UltraSPARC™ processor,this is not limiting and any other processor having sufficientprocessing capacity to undertake the tasks required of a particularprocessing cartridge may be used. Alternative processors include, butare not limited to, Intel x86 series and compatible processors, AMD x86compatible processors, Alpha processors and PowerPC processors. Theparticular example of an x86 compatible processor is described in moredetail with reference to FIG. 18. In FIG. 18, the parts corresponding tothose of the UltraSPARC™ based system of FIG. 11 have the same referencenumerals and will not be described again here. In a system based on anx86 compatible processor, the processor 378 itself communicates with theother components, including the memory 196 and PCI bus 198 via aNorthbridge 379. The Northbridge 379 also includes an interruptcontroller, so no separate interrupt concentrator is required. The othercomponents of the processing cartridge could be substantially the sameas for the UltraSPARC™ based system described above.

Although it has been described above that each information processingcartridge comprises a single microprocessor, this is not a limiting caseas each or any of the information processing cartridges may have morethan one microprocessor arranged to share common storage resources tooperate synchronously (in lockstep) or asynchronously. Also, it is notnecessary that all information processing cartridges inserted into ashelf at a given time are identical, rather a variety of different bladearchitectures may be used simultaneously.

The provision of the functions of both Switch and Shelf ServiceProcessor within a single FRU in the present example provides a facilitywithin a single shelf 41 for dual redundancy in both functions in fewerdifferent FRUs. As will be appreciated, there is no restriction thatthese two functions must be provided within a single FRU and division ofthe two functions into separate FRUs would present no difficulty to theskilled addressee.

The backup power provision for the cooling fans of the PSUs is describedabove with reference to FIG. 13. Although it is described that thebackup power supply to each fan should be independent of the other, ifthe risk of common mode failure of backup power supply is judged to below, or is of low importance, then the backup supply to each fan may beprovided in common with the backup supply to all other fans.

Also, an information processing module forming a field replaceableserver blade can include a processor and memory can be configured bymeans of software, firmware or hardware to provide a special purposefunction. By way of examples only, an information processing module canbe configured to perform the function of one or more of a firewall, or aload balancer, encryption and/or decryption processing, an interface toa secure network, e.g. a virtual private network (VPN), a specializedswitch with wide area network (WAN) connectability.

Also, a storage blade may be provided. The storage blade can beconfigured to be mountable in a server blade receiving location in ablade server carrier. The storage blade can comprise storage bladeconnectors configured for interconnecting with carrier connectors on theserver blade carrier, whereby the storage blade is interchangeable witha server blade. A carrier, or shelf, for a server system can be arrangedwith a plurality of blade receiving locations for receiving blades,wherein the blades can be storage blades or information processingblades. The server system can be self configuring on receipt of theblades according to the type of blade received in each said location. Toachieve the blade service controller in each blade can be operable tocommunicate with a shelf service processor to perform said configuring.

A conventional feature of provided by an operating system for aprocessor is a function called a “console”. A console provides a serial“command line” interface where system error messages can be reported.The console can also be used for system configuration tasks such as, forexample, resolving system boot problems and providing operating systeminstallations and/or upgrades. In the event of a hung machine, this cansometimes be released by sending a LINE BREAK to the console. This canbe configured to cause the system to “break out” to a ROM monitorfunction. In a multiprocessor system, for example of the type describedabove, the operating systems on each of the various processors (theprocessing modules, the service processor and the switch) will alltypically provide consoles. In a modular system such as that describedabove, it will be desirable to permit at least selected management usershave access to the consoles. It will be appreciated that this presentsquite a challenge, given the number of consoles, the fact that consoleswill come and go as modules are inserted and removed from the system andthe need to provide control over console access. For example, the accessto the consoles will typically be required by a system operator locatedremotely, for example at the management console 365 shown in FIG. 17.

This is addressed in the present example in that each shelf serviceprocessor (SSP) 74 in the carrier, or shelf, can act as a consoleconcentrator (which could also be described as a terminal concentrator,a console router or switch, or a console server). The consoleconcentrator can gain access to the consoles in the informationprocessing cartridges via the management links to the servicecontrollers, or blade service controllers (BSCs), in the blades 43.

The console concentrator can be included as an integral part of theblade system and can provide access to consoles in the serviceprocessor, the blades and the switches. This removes the need for suchfunctionality to be developed externally and makes the interfacesintegrated with those for remote management of the hardware (switch andSSP command line interfaces (CLIs)) giving a single interface whichprovides access to the management interfaces for the whole system.

The console concentrator functionality can be implemented entirely inthe SSP 74. For example, the console concentrator functionality can beimplemented by software running on the service processor microprocessor301 (see FIG. 12), with the connections to all the system consoles beingprovided by the serial multiplexors 308/309 (see FIG. 12) and the userinterfaces for providing access to the consoles being implemented by theserial and network connections 311/273 (see FIG. 12).

The console concentrator functionality is provided by SSP softwaremodules that can provide interfaces to form connections between a serialstream in and a user connection out where it may be that a single streamin connects to multiple output connections. The interfaces can beoperable to route packets of console information using conventionalpacket routing console techniques. These can include decoding routinginformation from packet headers and routing packets on the basis of thepacket header routing information.

The SSP software can also provide other functions. For example, it caninclude routing filters for checking user permissions when makingconnections to require appropriate levels of security for access. It canadminister write locks to ensure that only one user at a time can havewrite access to a console, while allowing multiple users to have readonly access. When allocating a write lock to a user, it can beconfigured to do this only when that user has appropriate permissions.It can send out notifications to existing connections as appropriate.For example, if write access is removed from a user, for example if ahigher priority user requires write access, then it can a inform theuser that has lost write access of this fact and also the user that hasacquired the write access. These functions will be referred to in thefollowing description of FIG. 19, which presents an overview of theconsole concentrator functionality.

As illustrated in FIG. 19, a CSSP 71 includes a switch 73 and an SSP 74as described earlier. A serial console path 595 is provided that alsoforms a console connection between the SSP 74 and the processor in theswitch 73. A serial management connection that also forms a consoleconnection 540 is also provided between the SSP and each of theinformation processing modules 43. An external serial connection 580 canprovide for local access, for example from a terminal 582 and a networkconnection 590 can provide for remote access, for example from aterminal B 592 and/or a management server 365. A console concentrator600 can be implemented in the SSP 74.

FIG. 20 is a schematic representation of functional components providedby the console concentrator. These can be implemented by softwareoperating on the SSP microprocessor. Alternatively, they could beimplemented by firmware.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, a serial interface 610, which can include aserial driver, provides an interface to the external serial connection580. An encoder/decoder 630 encodes and decodes packets to be sent toand received from the external serial connection 580. A networkinterface 620, which can include a network driver, provides an interfaceto the external network connection 590. An encoder/decoder 632 encodesand decodes packets to be sent to and received from the external networkconnection 590.

A serial interface 680, which can include a serial driver, provides aninterface to the internal serial connections, including the connection595 to the switch and the individual serial connections to the blades43. One or more encoder/decoders 670 encode and decode packets to besent to and received from the internal connections 595 and 540.

Routing logic 640 can be provided to control routing of the packets ofconsole information using information contained in packet headers.Security logic 650 can be provided to check and enforce user permissionsfor controlling console accesses. Write lock logic 660 can be providedto apply and control write locks to ensure that only a single user at atime can have write access to a given console.

It will be apparent from the above that the console concentrator 600 canprovide a single point of access to all system consoles, giving reducedcabling, simpler development, higher system availability, singleconnection point for system diagnosis and hence reduced time to repair.

As will be apparent from the earlier description, multiple accessmechanisms can be accommodated. The external serial connection 580 canprovide for local access and the external network connection(s) 590 canprovide for remote access permitting integration into network managementsystems and allowing multiple users to access a single physicalinterface.

Multiple access to a single console can also be accommodated. Forexample, a management server 365 could log a console stream while a userat terminal B 592 interacts with it. A local engineer at terminal A 582could access the console if required even if the already connected userat terminal B 592 cannot be contacted to disconnect. The write locklogic 660 of the console concentrator 600 can ensure that only oneclient (per console) has write ability by allocating a write lock on aper console basis. If the write lock is taken from an active connection,the user on that active connection can be notified by the consoleconcentrator that they are being moved into read-only mode and is alsonotified as to which user has taken the write lock.

The security logic 650 in that the console concentrator can be operableto require user authentication to access the consoles. This can protectthe servers from local discrete attack in the form of an attempt toreconfigure its software. The integral console concentrator 600 is likehaving a manual keyswitch can be used to provide console security. Bycomparison, an external concentrator would still leave a consoleconnection open to local attack. The security logic 650 consoleconcentrator 600 can also ensure appropriate permissions are presentbefore the write lock logic allows a user to take a write lock, therebyensuring that it is not taken from a user except when required by anappropriately authorized user.

In an example of the invention, console signals are sent over the samemanagement connection that is used to transmit management signals, forexample management commands between the service processor 74 and theservice controllers 203 of the blade 43. By sending console signals andmanagement signals via the same management connection 540, the number ofconnections between the service processor and the information processingmodules can be kept as low as possible. As described above, themanagement connection can be a serial connection.

In this example, the management signals to be sent between the serviceprocessor and the service controller are interlaced with console signalsvia the management connection. In particular, in this example, themanagement signals to be sent between the service processor and theservice controller are sent in one or more management packets bounded byterminal escape sequences.

FIG. 21 is a schematic representation of components of the modularcomputer system described in the foregoing that a relevant to anunderstanding of the way in which the management signals and the consolesignals are transmitted via one and the same management connection. Thesame reference signs are used as in, for example FIGS. 11 and 12 for thefeatures that have already been described with reference to thoseFigures.

FIG. 21 represents two service processors 74 and two of the up to 16information processing modules 43 that can be carried by the shelf 71.Each of the information processing modules 43 includes a servicecontroller 544. Each of the service processors 74 includes amicroprocessor 301. In normal operation, one of the service processors74 is operable as a master and the other of the service processors 74 isoperable as a slave.

Each of the service processors 74 is connected via a link 542 to anexternal network, for example a connection via a management switch 364to an external management console 365 as illustrated in FIG. 17. Each ofthe service processors is connected via a respective managementconnection 540 over the midplane 171 to the BSC 203 of each of theinformation processing modules. In the described example, the managementconnections 540 are serial connections.

As will be described in more detail below, each of the serviceprocessors 74 can be operable to provide the functions of a consoleconcentrator (CC) 546 and of encoders/decoders (E/D) 548 for each of themanagement connections 540. The console concentrator (CC) 546 and theencoder/decoder (E/D) 548 functionality can be provided by a softwareapplication and/or the operating system on the microprocessor 301 in theservice processor 74. However, it will be appreciated that suchfunctionality could, for example, alternatively be implemented byfirmware or by special purpose hardware.

As will be further be described in more detail below, the BSC 203 of aninformation processing module can be operable to provide the functionsof an encoder/decoder (E/D) 544 for its management connections 540. Theencoder/decoder (E/D) 544 functionality can be provided by BSC firmware.However, it will be appreciated that such functionality could, forexample, alternatively be implemented by software or by special purposehardware.

During transmission of a management packet from a service processor 74to a service controller 203, the service processor 74 can be operable tobuffer console data to be sent to the service controller. A buffer (B)549 for each management connection can be implemented for this purposein, for example, the random access memory 242 in the service processor74. By arranging that management packets have a predetermined maximumsize, the buffer for console data can be kept to a manageable givensize. The service processor 74 can also be operable to receive consoledata from a service controller during transmission of the managementpackets from the service processor 74 to that service controller 203.

During transmission of a management packet from a service controller 203to a service processor 74, the service controller 203 can be operable tobuffer console data to be sent to the service processor. A buffer (B)545 for the management connections can be implemented for this purposein, for example, registers of the BSC 203 or in random access memory inthe information processing module 43. Once again, by arranging thatmanagement packets have a predetermined maximum size, a buffer forconsole data can be kept to a given size. The service controller canalso be operable to receive console data from the service processorduring transmission of the management packets from the servicecontroller to the service processor.

During communication between the service processors 74 and the servicecontrollers of the blades, the service processors 74 can be operable asmaster in respect of each management connection the service controllerscan be operable as a slave. The service controller can be operable tosend an interrupt escape sequence to the service processor to inform theservice processor of an event.

The operation of the management connection between the serviceprocessors 74 and the service controllers 203 of the blades 43 will nowbe described in more detail.

It will appreciated from the foregoing description, that between anygiven information processing cartridge, or blade 43 and one of the SSPs74 there is a single serial management communication path. The data tobe exchanged over this communication path can include blade domainconsole input/output, blade I2C device accesses from the SSP 74 and SSPto blade domain communications. As the blade console can still be usedby a user as a management interface, no discernable latencies should beintroduced.

The traffic can, for example, include console traffic, of which there isno control as to the content of the data stream, and shelf serviceprocessor (SSP) 74 to blade service controller (BSC) 203 read/writecommands that have a controlled content. Also, data can be sent withinthe console data that forms control data for the connection. It isassumed that there are no standard control sequences used for thecontrol data assuming normal use of the console connection.

The BSC 203 can include firmware that receives blade console data overone UART implemented by the BSC 203, buffer it locally and then send itout on another UART also implemented by the BSC 203. This connection canbe interrupted by a user to interact with the blade managementfunctionality (hereinafter termed “lights-out management” (lom)). Whilethis is happening the BSC 203 buffers console output and sends it to theSSP 74 when the transfer of the management packet is completed.

At the SSP 74 banks of UARTs (in the specific example described withreference to FIG. 11, these being configured as OCTARTS 308 and 309) canbe driven by a serial driver that forms part of the SSP processoroperating system. An operating system application can be operable tohold open the connection to each UART and to form a conduit for all datapassing via the UARTs. This application can be operable to decode thedata it receives (i.e. to implement the functions of the encoder decoder548 mentioned earlier) and to provide a console/lom user interface.

As mentioned earlier a lom/console serial interface is interfaced withmanagement signals. The management signals can be BSC-SSP communicationstrings. These can be bounded by ANSI standard terminal escapesequences. The SSP 74 can act as a master and the BSC 203 can act as aslave with “interrupt” capabilities to synchronize SSP-BSCcommunications.

In operation, to communicate to the BSC 203, the SSP 74 sends a commandand waits for a reply (which may simply be an acknowledgement) from theBSC 203 before issuing another command. If the BSC 203 wants to notifythe SSP 74 of some event it can simply send an interrupt escapesequence, for example of the form:

OSC>9; X ST

where OSC could be replaced by DCS. This “interrupt” can be insertedanywhere in normal lom/console data, just not within escaped BSC-SSPdata. The SSP can then schedule the appropriate action when it hascompleted whatever is in progress.

When the SSP 74 is to communicate with the BSC 203, it starts to bufferlocally any lom/console data it has to send and then sends the followingescape sequence:

OSC><m>; <n>; X<cmd>ST

where OSC could be replaced by DCS, m can be 0 for all but the lastpacket in a multi-packet request and 1 for the last packet (or a singlepacket request), n can be the packet number for a message that is passedin multiple packets (1st packet is 0, 2nd is 1, etc) and <cmd>can be anyASCII string command to be sent to the BSC. While this escape sequenceis in progress, the BSC 203 can continue to send lom/console data to theSSP 74.

When the BSC 203 wants to reply or to send an interrupt it can start tobuffer locally any lom/console data it has to send and then sends thefollowing escape sequence:

OSC><m>; <n>; X<cmd>ST

where OSC could be replaced by DCS, m can be 2 for all but the lastpacket in a multi-packet request and 3 for the last packet (or a singlepacket request), n can be the packet number for a message that is passedin multiple packets (1st packet is 0, 2nd is 1, etc) and <cmd>can be anyASCII string command to be sent to the SSP 74. While this escapesequence is in progress the SSP 74 can continue to send lom/console datato the BSC 203.

A maximum <cmd>length can be set to, for example, 20 bytes to minimizeconsole/lom latency and to facilitate potential BSC-SSP errors to bespotted. By setting a maximum <cmd>length, the BSC and SSP should notneed to buffer more than about 1.5 times that length of console/lomtraffic. For example, if a maximum <cmd>length were set to 20 bytes, theBSC and SSP should not need to buffer more than about 30 bytes ofconsole/lom traffic.

Console/lom pass through can be provided by arranging for console/lominput to the BSC or SSP which starts “OSC>” to be translated byreceiving code, to be packeted in an escape sequence, and then to bedecoded by the far end to be sent as it was received, withoutinterrupting the BSC-SSP communications.

ASCII SSP-BSC commands can be provided for I2C device read/writes,domain-SSP communications, etc. If a DCS or OCS sequence is notcompleted with a ST, a terminal would typically hang. Accordingly, giventhat all command and replies are sent as complete packets, both ends ofthe protocol can be arranged to time-out after, for example, one secondif no data during the sequence. After a timeout, if reconnected, theBSC-SSP communications are resynchronized. The BSC 203 can be arrangedto assume that the SSP 74 has failed and to do nothing. The SSP 74 canbe arranged to send an interrupt packet to the BSC 203 to imply thatcommunications are to be reset and then to continue to communicate asnormal.

Two virtual register bytes and a state change bit can be used in a BSC203 host interface for communication with a blade domain. The SSP 74 cansend data to the domain (1 byte at a time) using an SSP-BSC command with1 byte. This byte can be placed in one of the virtual registers and theblade domain can be interrupted. For the domain to contact the SSP 74 itcan be arranged to write to the other virtual register and the BSC 203can be arranged to interrupt the SSP 74. The SSP 74 can then issue an“interrupt status” command that includes a domain data bit. The SSP canthen issue a “tell me the data” command to which the BSC responds withthe data written to it. To simplify the BSC firmware, the “interruptstatus” data given to the SSP can be the same as a status byte exportedto the host.

Thus there has been described a console concentrator as an integral partof a modular computer system to provide access to consoles in thecomponents of the system in a secure and flexible manner. For example,the console concentrator can provide a common point of access torespective consoles of a plurality of blades in blade server system. Itcan also provide access to consoles of, for example, a switch processorin the blade server system.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1. A modular computer system comprising: an integral consoleconcentrator configured to provide a common point of access to consolesin modules of the computer system; wherein the console concentrator isconfigured to provide access for multiple users at a time to each of theconsoles; wherein the console concentrator includes: a security unitconfigured to check and enforce user permissions for controlling consoleaccesses; and a write lock unit configured to apply and control writelocks for providing write access to each of the consoles to at most oneuser at a time and read-only access to multiple users at a time; whereinthe write lock unit is configured to grant and take away write access toa console based on the priority of the access, wherein if a write accessto one of the consoles is taken from a given user, the write lock unitis configured to notify the user of the move to a read-only mode andalso which user was granted the write access.
 2. The modular computersystem of claim 1, wherein the console concentrator is provided in acarrier carrying a plurality of removably receivable informationprocessing modules.
 3. The modular computer system of claim 2, whereineach information processing module includes a processor operable toprovide information processing functions and a service controlleroperable to provide management functions and provides access to aninformation processing module console.
 4. The modular computer system ofclaim 3, wherein the console concentrator is connectable via respectivemanagement connections to each of the information processing modules,the console concentrator distributing console signals to and from theservice controller of respective received information processing modulesvia the respective management connections.
 5. The computer system ofclaim 2, wherein the console concentrator is connectable to at least oneof a network connection for remote access and a serial connection forlocal access to the console of a received information processing modulevia the console concentrator.
 6. The computer system of claim 5, whereinthe console concentrator is connectable via multiple access mechanisms.7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the security unit of theconsole concentrator is configured to check user permissions beforeallowing the write lock unit to provide write access to users.
 8. Thecomputer system of claim 2, wherein the console concentrator is operableto communicate with the service controller of each received informationprocessing module via a respective management connection for access tothe console of each received information processing module.
 9. Thecomputer system of claim 8, wherein the management connection is aserial connection.
 10. The computer system of claim 2, comprising afield replaceable support module receivable in the carrier, the fieldreplaceable support module comprising the console concentrator.
 11. Thecomputer system of claim 10, wherein the field replaceable supportmodule is a service processor module.
 12. The computer system of claim10, wherein the field replaceable support module is a combined switchand service processor module comprising the service processor and aswitch connectable via a respective information connection to theprocessor of each received information processing module fordistributing information signals.
 13. The computer system of claim 12,comprising two field replaceable support modules receivable in thecarrier, each field replaceable support module comprising a respectiveservice processor connectable via a respective management connection tothe service controller of each received information processing module.14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein one of the serviceprocessors is operable as a master and the other service processor isoperable as a backup service processor.
 15. The computer system of claim14, wherein the service processor comprises a computer program providingconsole concentrator functionality.
 16. The computer system of claim 2,wherein the information processing modules form server blades.
 17. Thecomputer system of claim 2, wherein the carrier is a rack mountableshelf of a server blade system.
 18. A server system comprising: a serverblade carrier configured to receive a plurality of removably mountableserver blades, each server blade including a processor operable toprovide information processing functions and a service controlleroperable to provide blade management functions and access to a bladeconsole; a service processor connectable via separate managementconnections to each of the server blades, wherein the service processorincludes a console concentrator configured to distribute console signalsto and from the service controller of respective received blades;wherein the console concentrator is configured to provide access formultiple users at a time to each of the blade consoles; wherein theconsole concentrator includes: a security unit configured to check andenforce user permissions for controlling console accesses; and a writelock unit configured to apply and control write locks for providingwrite access to each of the blade consoles to at most one user at a timeand read-only access to multiple users at a time; wherein the write lockunit is configured to grant and take away write access to a consolebased on the priority of the access, wherein if a write access to one ofthe consoles is taken from a given user, the write lock unit isconfigured to notify the user of the move to a read-only mode and alsowhich user was granted the write access.
 19. A field replaceable supportmodule for a connection framework including a plurality of informationprocessing module receiving locations each configured to receive aremovably mountable information processing module, the support modulecomprising: a respective management connection for connection to eachreceiving location; and a service processor including a consoleconcentrator configured to distribute console signals to and from theservice controller of respective received information processing modulesvia said respective management connections; wherein the consoleconcentrator is configured to provide access for multiple users at atime to a plurality of consoles included within a plurality of receivedinformation processing modules; wherein the console concentratorincludes: a security unit configured to check and enforce userpermissions for controlling console accesses; and a write lock unitconfigured to apply and control write locks for providing write accessto each of the consoles to at most one user at a time and read-onlyaccess to multiple users at a time; wherein the write lock unit isconfigured to grant and take away write access to a console based on thepriority of the access, wherein if a write access to one of the consolesis taken from a given user, the write lock unit is configured to notifythe user of the move to a read-only mode and also which user was grantedthe write access.
 20. The support module of claim 19, wherein theservice processor is operable to provide a common point of access to theconsole of an information processing module when received in theconnection framework.
 21. The support module of claim 19, wherein theservice processor includes at least one of a network connection forremote access and a serial connection for local access via the consoleconcentrator to the console of an information processing module whenreceived in the connection framework.
 22. The support module of claim21, wherein the console concentrator of the service processor isconnectable to multiple access mechanisms.
 23. The support module ofclaim 19, wherein the security unit of the console concentrator isconfigured to check user permissions before allowing the write lock unitto provide write access to users.
 24. The support module of claim 19,wherein the console concentrator of the service processor is operable tocommunicate with the service controller of each received informationprocessing module via a respective management connection for access tothe console of each received information processing module.
 25. Thesupport module of claim 24, wherein the management connection is aserial connection.
 26. The support module of claim 19, in the form of acombined switch and service processor module comprising the serviceprocessor and a switch connectable via a respective informationconnection to the processor of each received information processingmodule for distributing information signals.
 27. The support module ofclaim 19, operable as a master when another such support module isreceived in the connection framework.